


My Boyfriend is a Grim Reaper

by Purpleunicorn_07



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Also a university Au, Ben is a grim reaper, F/M, Kaydel and Ben are siblings, Poe is also Cassian's godson, Rey is a florist, Some catholic elements but not really, The Tico parents are alive and well, Witchy elements were pulled out of my butt and aren't accurate or true, a whole chapter dedicated to the dia de los reyes, another one dedicated to making tamales and teasing Cassian, ben also needs a hug, dont try this at home, it's a grim reaper Au, no porgs only crows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 47,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24810709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpleunicorn_07/pseuds/Purpleunicorn_07
Summary: Rey is ready to kick ass this year. Her grades are up, she's living with her best friends, and she loves her new job at Tico flowers. But when Rey keeps finding bone sigils and dead animals, she decides to enlist the help of nerdy jerk, Ben Solo. Ben is the loner type preferring to spend most of his time reading up on Demonology on the fourth floor of Chandrila University.It doesn't take Rey long to warm up to Ben, especially when he insists on buying her food. So what if he stole her apple that one time?However, a chance encounter with Ben's father leads Rey spinning with questions, and when she finally confronts Ben, she doesn't expect him to confess to being a grim reaper.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	1. Regretting the New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every Sunday! Buckle up because this is going to be a long one

  


  


Chapter 1 **Regretting the New Year**

  


Why did I think this was a good idea?

I am breathing heavily, and the swish of my athletic jacket rubbing under my arms is starting to annoy me. My feet don’t ache, but my legs are screaming now? Why did I decide to start running again?

The sun is just beginning to peek out over the horizon, her rays chasing away the night. Above me, I hear the squawk of a crow. They were everywhere this morning perched on traffic signs, telephone poles, and dewy lawns. The last time I had seen a murder of crows was in the fall back on Chandrila’s campus. The crows liked to gather in the tall pine trees and drop pine cones from unsuspecting heights. Something had spooked them once, and hundreds of them went flying out of the tree, darkening the sky into a mass of black feathers.

Crows gather above me on thin telephone poles, their beady eyes study me as I run. I shiver not because I find crows particularly freighting but because I can feel their heavy gaze on my back as I turn into the next street. My turquoise Nikes slap against the payment in heavy thuds.

Starting the new year with a run down to Takodana lake sounded like a great plan last night while buzzing with champagne. Everything sounded like a good idea surrounded by Rose, Paige, and Finn huddled under the porch, champagne bottle between us as we counted down to the new year. Fireworks had exploded into the sky in dazzling streaks of purple, red, and blue. Further down the street, we spotted our neighbor Armitage sweeping money into his home, to symbolize wealth in the coming year. We all laughed and gave him a toast.

  


Now at the early hours of 6 in the morning, out of breath only a few blocks away from home, was making me reconsider why I bothered getting out bed. But I knew why. If I hadn’t done this today, at this hour, would I have followed through with such a simple resolution?

  


Probably not.

  
  


  


I spot another crow on a stranger's dewy lawn. The bird hops on skinny legs and stretches out a wing, light reflects off the feathers in a midnight blue color. Even this bird was happy to be up this early in the morning.

I was so going back under the covers after this run and reading fanfiction on my phone.

  


I had not gone on a run since I moved to Takodana a year ago for university. A year hadn’t been much time. I thought my body would have been able to jump right back into a run. I had only run a few blocks but I was already out of breath. The Tico sisters have been spoiling me with their home-cooked meals ever since I moved in with them at the beginning of the summer.

I was thankful to Rose Tico every day for rescuing me from the musty dorm rooms at Chandrila university. I met Rose during a philosophy class in the spring. Why had we taken such a class when we could have picked from other more engaging topics?

We played ourselves.

We had hit it off over our joint hatred of the class and the Professor. Professor Skywalker was nice, but he tended to rant about the most random things. One class session after a light rain, he had told us he had spotted a snail sludging along the wet concrete. The creature was simply effervescent and assigned us all to observe a snail and write a paper about it.

Was Professor Skywalker always blissfully high, or did he believe his own bullshit? Our final paper had been to come up with a theory an old Greek philosopher would have written. Rose had used Aristophanes and connected his idea of soulmates to penguins, while I had defended Skywalker's effervescent snails as Plato's other allegory.

  


Suffice to say we both passed.

  


I push myself forward in my pair of Nikes I had picked up from a thrift store not long ago. They were a bit beat up from the previous owner’s daily routine, but they provide far better comfort than the old converse I use to run in. I catch the first glimpses of Takodana lake just as my side begins to ache.

  


Starting school at Chandrila gave me hope for my future. I no longer had to tiptoe around my alcoholic parents when I got home from school. I didn’t have to constantly jam headphones onto my head whenever I was home to be able to complete my schoolwork. I didn’t have to sneak money out of my parent's wallets to go to the grocery store.

Admittedly living in the dorms was lonely. I had a roommate in the beginning, but as the semester progressed, she spent less and less time there. Some nights I awoke in our white room, expecting to see the rise and fall of her chest as she slept, but most of the time, her bed was empty. My surrounding dorm mates were loud and could be heard through the thin walls laughing, joking, spewing nonsense.

  


I often found myself spending less and less time in my dorm and more time at my job at a grocery store and the library.

The crows continue to sprinkle the nooks of the neighborhood of Takodana all the way down to the lake. If I had been more superstitious, I would have probably turned back around and headed for bed. Starting off the new year surrounded by these many crows had to be some kind of sign.

  


If it was, it was not a sign meant for me. Last year's adjustment to college had been hard on me. My scholarship covered my tuition, and the few dollars left over helped with my rent for the dorm I slept in. For the expenses of food and rent, I had taken a job at a grocery store and another job at the alumni building, asking for donations from previous graduates. When I had come back to my dorm room from those jobs, the library would often be closed for the night, leaving me to retreat to my dorm and to jam my cheap headphones over my ears again. Finally, I just began arriving home exhausted, and my assignments incomplete.

  


My grades slipped, and I had come close to losing my scholarship that fall. Finn had been in the same boat, but with the help of his new girlfriend Rose, he had pulled himself out of the abyss. Then he came and helped me. 

  


My second semester went smoother, but I still struggled to juggle both jobs. Rose suggested I quit one Finn, too. At the time, I had been debating dropping out of school. All my money was flowing into my living expenses, and I was constantly tired and stressed. I had not wanted to take a loan the school offered; I did not want to owe the university more money later. I had survived, but barely.

  


This year was different already, the fall semester of my second year felt different. I moved in with the Tico sisters during the summer, and Rose had introduced me to her parents, who ran a small flower shop in the middle of town. Mrs. Tico offered me a job at the store not long after meeting me, and I spent that summer making flower deliveries and as a cashier at Walker Market. I quit the call center job, between my savings from the summer and what I earned now with the Ticos I had enough money leftover not to need a second job.

  


An older man sits on a green bench and tossing oats at the ducks lucky enough to get a piece. The crows squawk at the man who tries to shoo them away, but they’re determined birds and the muffin the man had next to him becomes their breakfast.

  


I smile.

  


On my second lap, I catch the crows trying to steal the muffin out of the beak of another. The old man had run out of oats to feed the ducks instead, he leans back against the bench and observes them with tentative sips of his coffee. My stomach growls at me at that moment, reminding me I had left the house without eating breakfast.

  


On my last lap, I wonder if the Tico sisters are awake yet. Paige makes the most delicious ham and cheese omelets. Never burnt, always fluffy, and with cute ketchup designs on the plate. My mouth watered thinking about it. Maybe I could cut this lap short, after all, I had run to the lake. That had to count as another lap.

  


I’m considering it when I spot something white sticking out of the ground a few paces away from the path. I slow down to a fast walk and pant my way over to the object. With my hands on my knees and deep lungfuls of air, I study it.

  


That’s odd.

  


Bones rest on the grass in an odd formation. They’re not haphazardly thrown together the way an animal might leave them after a meal rather, their formation looks thought out. Maybe a teenager dabbling in witchcraft? Or someone looking to scare their friends?

  


My stomach growls again cutting, my curiosity short. I turn away from the bones and run on aching limbs all the way home.

  


  


\----

The smell of freshly brewed coffee greets me as soon as I walk through the door of the old Tico family home. Paige and Rose's parents had gifted the sisters the house they grew up in once Rose began attending college. Paige graduated law school last year and was now working at a law firm as a paralegal. The Ticos wanted their daughters to get a taste of responsibilities while also giving Rose a taste of the college experience. Rose originally wanted to experience the dorm life during her first year of university but could not pass up the offer.

  


The rent was cheaper, the space bigger, and her roommate was tolerable Rose had reasoned.

  


Their parents now lived in a smaller apartment on the second floor of their flower shop. Mrs. Tico says she prefers it this way because she wakes to the smell of fresh flowers every day. They visit often, so the Tico sisters hardly have time to miss them.

  


Since their parents were their landlords, their rent was cheap and split three ways between all three of us, the house was a deal. I could not ask for a better place to live. The only downside was that the house was not within walking distance of the University, and Paige was the only one of us with a car that she used for work. Rose and I were currently saving up for one. We were both tired of taking the bus at night and walking home in the dark. Although, we did when we had too.

  


I loved living there and with them, although the sisters fought over petty things such as blaming each other for leaving socks in the kitchen and leaving hairballs in the shower. They were quick to bicker but just as quick to forgive.

  


I toe my shoes off at the entryway and slip the windbreaker off my shoulders. I head straight for the kitchen and pour myself some water. Paige stands in front of the coffee machine, her eyes staring intently as the coffee percolating into the pot.

  


"I'm surprised you're up this early," I comment after finishing my glass of water.

  


"I'm trying to get back in the habit before work on Monday," she sighs just as the coffee machine shuts off. Paige has a mug at the ready and doesn't hesitate to pour herself a cup.

Yes. Monday, when winter break comes to an end, and we all have to return to our regular lives. 

"There were so many crows outside when I woke up. I could barely see out the window. Did you see anything weird out there?" Paige asks, blowing the steam off her coffee.

  


I pause debating whether I should mention the bones to Paige before deciding it’s worth sharing.

“Actually, while I was running laps around the lake, I found some bones,” Paige raises a skeptical eyebrow over the rim of her coffee. “At first, I thought they were leftovers from a coyote’s dinner but, they were in a weird formation” I shrug my shoulders, “probably nothing.”

  


“I’ve lived here all my life and have visited that lake almost daily, never seen anything like that. Probably some kids, goofing off.” Paige takes a cautious sip of her coffee. “Hey, since I’m up wanna binge the new season of Rebel Hospital? You know how I feel about Poe Dameron. That man only gets finer with age,” Paige dramatically fans herself with her free hand.

  


I laugh at that, “Sure just let me take a shower first.”

  


We are only a few episodes in when Rose wakes up, dragging a sherpa blanket behind her. She plops down between us and squints at the tv. Rose adjusts her blanket so that it falls over her head like a hoodie.

  


“Why are we up so early?” she asks in a sleepy voice before yawning and closing her eyes.

Before either of us can answer, she begins to snore. Paige shakes her head and smiles softly, moving Rose’s head to her shoulder.

  


My heart aches at the tenderness, and I try to stamp down the feelings of jealously that rise whenever I witness the love between the two sisters. My family might have abandoned me, but I had the Tico sisters now and Finn not to mention all the other friendly people I had met since moving here.

  


  


But even with all of them, I could help but feel lonely.

  


  


  



	2. Beware of Baby Jesus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by baby Jesus on Día de Los Reyes. This chapter is all about Día de Los Reyes and takes inspiration from my own experiences. I am Latina and I grew up swerving baby Jesus during Día de Los Reyes. I also imagine Cassian being this extra too. Do you celebrate this holiday?

Chapter 2 Beware of Baby Jesus

On the 6th of January, the Andor’s invited the whole neighborhood over for brunch and King cake. My parents weren’t expressly religious, and I knew some basic bible facts, but I had never heard of this tradition. A few days before the brunch, Rose and Paige sat me down on the couch and explained the tradition to me.

“El Día de los Reyes or three king’s day is super popular in Latin America. Cassian said that Santa Claus is lame compared to these three kings.” Rose takes long sips of the iced coffee she had made herself earlier. It was an early Saturday morning sunlight pouring in through the windows. None of us had eaten breakfast yet, and my stomach growled, I threw my arm around my middle, trying to suffocate the sound.

Paige hovers over our monstera planet, carefully examining the leaves and wiping away dust. By her feet is a small water tin she had taken from Target and painted bright orange flowers over it. “Three King’s day,” Paige continues moving onto the next leaf, “is to celebrate the day that the three wise men came to visit baby Jesus. According to the bible, they gifted him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Rose nods along and plops herself down in the lone plush Papasan chair. Her first big purchase since beginning college. She had spent a pretty penny on that chair, but long nights spent studying and reading out of textbooks had more than made up for it. I even found myself dozing off in it sometimes.

“But I thought Jesus was born on the 25th? Why didn’t they come sooner?” I could feel my nose scrunching up in my confusion, a habit Finn had pointed out when we first met. I’ve been conscious of it ever since.

“They got lost or something I don’t know I didn’t pay attention during church.” Rose waves her hand dismissively “that’s the tradition behind it, at least. Families also buy a big ring-shaped cake and share it but, there’s a catch. Inside the bread are small plastic babies about this big,” Rose pinches her thumb and index finger together to emphasize the small shape, “and whoever ends up with the baby in their slice of cake has to make tamales for everyone. Or that’s at least how Cassian says they use to celebrate it in his family,” Rose shrugs, tucking her bare feet under her.

Paige moves away from the monstera and moves towards our pothos plant by the window. “Ever since Cassian has been our neighbor, he’s invited the whole neighborhood to share the cake with him, but instead of making the person who gets baby Jesus make everyone tamales. Cassian instead has them help him make them,” Paige explains as she gently waters our pothos plant. “Rose has gotten baby Jesus for the past three years,” Paige’s smile is mischievous, and I’m sure if Rose had been paying attention to her big sister, Paige would have had to dodge a random object.

“But not this year! This year I’m going to be spared!” Rose blows a kiss up to the ceiling, “Aint that right?”

I chuckle at Rose’s antics and shake my head.

“This tradition sounds super fun, plus Cassian’s tamales are tasty.” For Christmas, he had made a small batch and had come to our door to hand us a plate full of them before he left to visit his family for the day. “I’d love to learn to make them.”

Both sisters pause. Paige holds the pail mid pour while Rose blinks at me, metal straw halfway to her lips- forgotten.

“Oh, Rey sweet naive Rey,” Rose chuckles and shakes her head. “Tamales are delicious, but making them is exhausting. It takes hours! Hours,” She drags out the s for emphasis, “to fill up all the tamale leaves with masa and meat and fold them. This neighborhood is pretty small, but Cassian insists that every house gets at least 24!” Rose hands shake slightly as her eyes glaze over lost in her memories.

“When Cassian started dating Jyn, the whole neighborhood was relieved to have an extra set of hands to help.” Paige sets her pail on a small table and walks over to pat her sister’s head. That breaks Rose from her daze, and the younger sister continues to sip her coffee.

“It always goes faster when there’s an extra set of hands. You’ll help me this year, right Pae-Pae?” Rose cranes her neck up at Paige.

“Of course. But we have nothing to worry about Rose. I feel good this year.”

Before we leave the house, Rose stops us all in front of the door and makes us clasp hold each other's hands.

“God, powers that be, and the forces of the universe, please spare us this year from baby Jesus’s appearance in our slice of cake.”

Paige snickers at Rose’s dramatics but decides not to comment further when her sister shoots her a scolding look.

“It can’t be that bad,” Rose also shoots me an ice glare, her eye twitching slightly. I gulp. We have never fought our entire friendship, but from what I overheard from my room, Rose had a tempered that was unmatched. Sometimes after a fight, Finn would come to me for help to locate an I’m sorry gift.

Paige’s words from earlier were encouraging, but in the end, were wishful thinking. I should have known something was up when Cassian shuffled us all into his backyard and announced that this year’s cake would contain three babies instead of one.

Upon hearing the news, Rose glances up at the cloudless sky and whispers something low under her breath that even I can’t catch. Paige stares long and hard at Cassian while the older man chuckles. I ignore the sisters and ask Jyn if they have any orange juice. Jyn leads me away and towards the long food table. She pours me a glass of orange juice in a champagne flute and asks if I’d want to turn it into a mimosa, but I decline. 

“We’re all going to need a bit of alcohol to get through today,” she warns before pouring champagne and orange juice in her flute.

I should have known something was off then, but instead, I grab a paper plate and scoop eggs and chorizo onto it. My hand brushes against Maz’s ebony one as I’m reaching for a blueberry muffin, and she greets me warmly. Maz lived alone in a small house at the end of our cul de sac. She mostly kept to herself and liked to sit on her porch and watch the neighborhood. I often found her knitting in the morning when I returned from my morning runs.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been heading out the door earlier and earlier each day,” she comments while sipping on her flute.

“Yes. It’s my big new year’s resolution. I haven’t run since high school.” I study the bowl of fruit intently. Deciding whether I should scoop some onto my plate.

“This year will be your year Rey Nima. Just wait and see,” Maz says cryptically and transfers her muffin onto my plate before shuffling away to speak to Jyn. 

Maz always said cryptic stuff like that. Paige and Rose had told me not to take her words too seriously; she was just our odd elderly neighbor. 

When it comes time to cut the ring-shaped cake, I feel Rose’s anger from across the table. She is either extremely unlucky or, the universe has deemed her the guardian of baby Jesus. And for the fourth year in a row baby, Jesus has peeped out of her slice of cake.

“I’m sorry, Mija,” Cassian laments in a tone that is not sorry at all. He hides his mouth with his hand and looks away while laughter escapes his throat. Jyn slaps her husband’s abdomen before giving Rose’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“You can give baby Jesus away to one of your roommates if you’d like we won’t mind,” She tells Rose.

“No. It’s fine” Rose lets out a tired sigh as she stabs her cake with her fork. Baby Jesus lays on the corner of her plate surrounded by crumbs, “I’ll take my punishment in silence,” then just as suddenly her eyes light up, and a mischievous look crosses her face, “actually I made a deal with Paige that she must help us wrap tamales this year if I was chosen again. Isn’t that right big sister?”

Paige is busy sipping coffee and laughing with Maz, probably about her sister’s unfortunate luck when she hears her name called just in time to hear the end of Rose’s sentence.

“No way! We never shook on it!”

“Too bad you were being mean to me this morning and laughing at my misfortune!”

\--

When Paige receives the second baby, it’s pure coincidence. Rose laughs at her sister,“Karma has come for your betrayal Pae-Pae!” At Paige's shocked face, Rose pulls her sister into a hug. Cassian's booming laugh rings out throughout the yard. Maz looks on at the sisters in sympathy, while Hux, our serious and oftentimes dickish redheaded neighbor who lives across the street from of us, joins in on the laughter

But when I dig into my cake, and my fork hits something hard, I freeze because what are the chances. I glance over at Cassian first, who is munching on some toast, he’s deep in a conversation with Maz and doesn’t notice my surprise. I catch Rose’s eye from across the lawn, and when she registers my expression, her mouth forms into an O. You too, she mouths? 

When I nod my head, her hand shoots out into a fist. For the first time, I start to worry.

\---

Before we leave the party, Cassian and Jyn come to give their goodbyes. Our small group clusters together on their porch. Behind us, the party rages on, by now a majority of our neighbors are drunk. Their boisterous laughter escapes out between the cracks in the fence.

Cassian and Jyn stand in front of us. Their arms wrapped around each other, his over her shoulders, hers around his waist. Cassian with a silly drunk grin on his face.

“Two Saturdays from now. All three of you get to help Jyn, and I make tamales, I know Rose and Paige aren’t excited, but Rey this will be your first tamale-making party!” Cassian exclaims as if he just told me I had won a million dollars.

I glance at Rose and Paige, whose expressions are resigned.

“I am a bit. Even though Rose and Paige have told me stories about being lost in the masa for hours.”

Cassian laughs at this, “it’s true. I probably wouldn’t make them as often if I didn’t have some help,” he glances at Rose as he says that, but she sticks out her tongue at him making him chuckle.

“You set this up, didn’t you, Cas?” Rose accuses.

“Me?” Cas gasps, his features boyish, “I would never do such a thing!” Rose raises a skeptic eyebrow that makes Cas giggle, our answer clear as day.

“We’re going to have an extra set of hands this year,” Jyn continues distracting us from her husband, “apart from you three. Cassian’s godson is coming up to visit from Coruscant.”

Cassian eyes light up instantly at the mention, “My godson has some time off from his job and has decided to spend it with us, I teased him about leaving his nino all alone again while he headed off to Hawaii like he usually does.”

“He’s an actor,” Jyn explains.

“Really? Has he been in anything popular?” Paige asks her eyes excited. Besides Poe Dameron, Paige had a long list of television heartthrobs she was eager to meet in person. One late night she had asked Rose and me if we were down to drive to a comic book convention because one of her favorite actors would be doing a panel. Given that the convention was six hours away, we both declined, and Paige sat around pouting that day. 

Cassian mulls this over “I don’t think so. He’s been in few tv roles, but nothing has kicked him up into stardom yet.” Jyn rubs Cassian's back and looks at him with pure adoration.

“He’s really proud of him.”

“That reminds me! Are any of you free to take him out to coffee? He’s visited me a few times here in Takodana, but all the coffee shops he’s gone to have not been up to his refined palette.”

Cassian rolls his eyes, his lips quirk into an almost smile.

“Sure! I don’t have anything planned yet,” Paige is quick to jump at the chance.

“I don’t know if I can, I’m usually busy with school or going out with Finn. Rey?”

“I’ll probably be free,” I nod.

“Great! Can’t wait for all of you to meet him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Dia De Los Reyes](https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/01/05/what-is-dia-de-los-reyes-three-kings-day-and-how-do-you-celebrate-it/)
> 
> [ Pae-Pae](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Paige_Tico)
> 
> Mija/Mijo- a Spanish word that is often used as a term of endearment. It's most commonly used by parents and other family members but your friends and SO may use it too. It means "my daughter" and the term mijo means "my son".


	3. Mr. Darcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, you read that right. The dark prince has arrived!

Chapter 3 Mr. Darcy 

The fourth floor of the Chandrila library is my favorite floor to relax and study. Although I felt comfortable studying at home with the soft hum of the tv coming from Paige in the living room or Rose and Finn’s chatter from behind her closed door, I had made it a habit to study here since my time in the dorms. In between short class breaks, I ducked into the library, sometimes eating my lunch hunched over that day’s homework. Finn and Rose’s schedule didn’t always align with mine, so having lunch or hanging out with them on campus wasn’t a sure thing, but that was okay. Although I wished we could eat lunch together I was now used to seeing them both at home.

The fifth floor was too quiet. When I walked, all I could hear were the sound of my pants rubbing together as I shuffled to a private desk set up to look like a personal study booth. I didn’t like the feeling of isolation in those booths, memories of my old life flooded up to the surface.

The fourth floor was the most gorgeous- with panorama views of the entire campus, wood tables, purple couches, and the softest plush seats with pull out tables for snacking and studying. The carpet was the same ugly grey as the rest of the library to disguise the stains. My favorite part of this floor was the subtle scent. Along some of the walls were hidden outlets with plug-in air fresheners, which kept this floor smelling like a lavender field. None of the other floors had these air fresheners or maybe they did, but I hadn’t noticed it. The previous three floors were crowded. And some students wouldn’t stray far from the first two levels.

A bulk of the English literature books also resided on this level. Which is what summoned me up here in the first place. This week my English class was to begin reading Pride and Prejudice, which could easily be accessed via a free eBook. It wasn't the same as having the psychical copy in your hands. Luckily, the library had a few copies, and I was determined to beat my classmates to a copy. 

The noise level on this floor is akin to that of a soft chatter like a local coffee shop on an early morning. The previous three floors were full of students who pretended to get work done but really were there to distract their friends. I glanced down at my phone, where I had taken a screenshot with the location of Pride and Prejudice. I hum the melody to a Fleetwood mac song softly to myself as I weave in between the stacks, glancing up briefly to make sure the numbers at the sides ascended in the correct direction.

_ Well did she make you cry _

_ make you break down _

_ shatter your illusions of love _

__

I halt abruptly and pivot down a row of towering bookshelves. The books stand are so close that they swallow up the fluorescent lights. I have to get closer to the neat rows to read the spines. With my hand that’s not holding my phone, I follow the carefully printed labels on the bottom of their spines-searching for the right combination of letters and numbers. The books lead me further and further away from the entrance.

A light above me flickers, making me squint at the spines. Out of the corner of my eye, I register a lone figure at the edge of this row. They sit on the ugly carpet with a stack of books beside them. I don’t get a good look, but my mind recognizes their hazy outline, and I keep this in mind as I continue my search for Jane Austen’s most loved classic.

_ Rulers make bad lovers _

_ You better put your kingdom up for sale _

_ Up for sale _

I continue humming as I run my index fingers through the neat labels, my eyes scanning and scanning until I hit Austen neatly printed on the spine. My index finger freezes and a small jolt of excitement runs through me.

  
  


“Mansfield Park, Emma, Sense, and sensibility…” I continued whispering under my breath. Pride and Prejudice should be here. According to Chandrila’s library catalog, there was more than one copy, but it looked like all copies were absent from their shelf.

_ And is it over now do you know how _

_ Pick up the pieces and go home _ __

I sigh deeply. Damn, I was too late. I guess I’ll have to settle for reading the ebook version off my phone. I frown down and the object in hand. I didn’t have a problem reading fanfiction off of it as those stories tended to be short, and the language casual, but there had been numerous times last year where I had fallen asleep trying to read an assigned novel for my freshman writing class.

  
  


I’ll have to make do. For now, I’ll head to a study table and finish up some of tonight’s homework. There wasn’t much as classes had just started again. I’d download Pride and Prejudice later.

I glance down at my phone again and press the home button down with my thumb. My home screen appears, obscured by apps, it is an illustration of a purple galaxy, a small piece of my old life I had brought with me. Before Chandrila, I lived in Jakku, a desert town with no light pollution. At night the galaxy and all of its stars are visible.

I decided to continue out of the stacks in the opposite direction from where I came. The tables on that side of the floor had a clear view of the campus, and during my short study breaks, I'd watch the students walk by.

I had forgotten about the person who had been studying at the other end of these shelves. Too engrossed in my search for my study playlist to prevent the way our bodies collided, my head hitting a jaw bone, my phone squished between us, the hard press of books to my stomach, before falling away and landing on their legs.

“Ow,” I moan.

“Hey be careful!” the person exclaims in their deep voice. I push myself back onto my knees and rub my head that’s feeling a little sore. In turn, I see the stranger is also rubbing his own jaw.

“Sorry. So sorry,” I mumble before anger simmers into my stomach, “but why are you sitting in the stacks when there are tables out there, I point in their general direction. The stranger scolds but doesn’t answer, he’s tall, with dark wavy hair that kiss his shoulders and dressed in all black. The long sleeve he was currently wearing outlined the muscles in his stomach and his biceps.

I reach over him to grab my phone that landed on the other side of his legs. When I lean back onto my haunches my eyes zero in on a small paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice by his side.

“Hey that’s the only copy of Pride and Prejudice this library has let me borrow it I need it for my class.” I reach out to grab it my fingers grip the corner when the stranger slaps his hand down on the cover.

“What if I need it for my own class?” He challenges with a raise of his left brow. His face is stern, and I can’t help but notice the ways his lips pout making them look plusher.

Fuck he just had to be hot.

“Do you?” Well if he did maybe we could work out some kind of deal, but no wait a minute. “It’s online,” I comment and drag the book towards me. Let him deal with the eye strain.

“That’s not the same as the physical book.” The stranger shakes his head and drags it back towards him.

“My professor banned the use of technology in class! It makes him uncomfortable,” I lie. My professor honestly did not care one bit. “Please! You probably won’t have time to read it with that big stack” I jut my chin towards the pile of books by his side. Books lay skewed on the carpet now due to my fall. “It’s the least you can do for tripping me.”

“You wouldn’t have tripped if you were watching where you were walking!” He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Okay fine, nerd.” His brown eyes collide with mine as he pushes the book towards me. “You need it more than me.” 

Yes! I hug the book towards my middle stand up. I back away from him and leave him to fix his stack serves him right for being a safety hazard.

“Thanks, Nerd!” I call to him over my shoulder.

\----

The next time I see him, he’s seated at the table across from me— looking as hot as before. The floor had been barren when I walked up here most students marched off towards the cafeteria for dinner. I stretch my arms over my head and allow a yawn to escape my mouth. Finn left me to study an hour ago, and in that time, I managed to finish my math homework and read an article for my sociology class. My shoulders ache a bit from being hunched over the desk, but my stretching rectifies that. I allow my eyes to wander around the library and blink a couple of times. I’m tired, a little hungry but I have finished my homework for the next day.

Darcy sits across from me at another honeyed colored table. He's dressed in a red checkered flannel and dark blue jeans, which contrast nicely to his pale skin. Books are scattered around his desk and spread out to different pages. His eyes scan the page of one before scanning the page of the next and so on. A long pale finger flips the page at the exact moment he looks up from his book. Our eyes collide, and to curve the awkwardness, I send him a small smile. A hey remember me asshole smile.

He doesn’t reciprocate and instead drops his eyes back to the book. My smile deflates a little. Had he forgotten who I was? Unlikely. When I had begun reading the copy of Pride and Prejudice he gave me, I realized it wasn’t the library’s copy but his own personal one. There were sentences in the book he had underlined most of these were the comedic parts. But there were a handful of Mr. Darcy’s lines he had underlined twice.

My phone vibrates against the table, making me forget the awkward encounter.

Rose texts me that she and Finn are waiting for me in the parking lot, so I gather my belongings and chance one last glance at the stranger across from me. He continues reading, not at all distracted by my packing. The last book I pack is the copy of Pride and Prejudice he had given me, and I can’t help the sly grin that makes its way onto my face.

Oh, so he was a Mr. Darcy type. Handsome, brooding, but awkward.

\---

I get a head start to my morning the next day and slip out while Rose and Paige are sleeping. The morning is chilly, but I forego a windbreaker and run in an old tee I received at a blood drive event last year. I spot a few crows outside but far less than I did on New Year’s Day. I pass by a house with a white magnolia planted out on the sidewalk and hear a faint squawk that startles me. I don’t spot the crow, but I know they’re somewhere up in the branches watching and silently judging me with their glass eyes/

Today some cars linger at a traffic stop early morning commuters heading into work or school.

As I jog across the lake’s parking lot, I spy a modern yellow mustang. Owning a mustang was my dream, but first I needed to figure out what major to study. The dream was in the very distant future. This car looked well taken care of and shines in the morning sun. The cars in this lot are sparse, and this car stands out amongst the minivans and rust buckets.

Takodana is a small city with one high school, a small downtown area, and one big recreational park. It was a quiet, calm town, and most residents stay here all their lives unless a job takes them elsewhere. I was still getting a feel for the people of Takodana, but in the short time I’ve lived here, I’ve come to notice that this small town had a lot of classic cars. The modern cars I had seen in this town were minivans and small SUVs. It was a Subarian town at heart. Mustangs were rare, but bright yellow mustangs were rare.

Must be someone visiting the lake from out of town.

I don’t give the car much more thought and begin running along the path. I stick to the left of the path, to give room for the older seniors walking in visors and white tennis shoes. Other runners are down by the lake with wireless earphones. Today I jogged to the sound of music in my ears. And the soft low crooning pushed me forward.

The lake is a bit busy for a weekday. Ever since my New Year’s Day run, I had slowly been forcing myself back into a running routine. Most mornings, I was able to do it— but on occasion— I did sleep in. I tried not to be hard on myself about those times. I was still running more than I did last year.

I pass the tree where I had found the bones on new year’s day. My eyes can’t help but stray to the spot and examine it for more bones. I’ve been wondering about this spot ever since my initial discovery. But whoever had left the bones there had decided to move on. Today, the grass underneath that tree lay empty and undisturbed.

For the most part, I was relieved, but there was a smaller part of me who was curious. Who had left them there in the first place? Did the tree hold a significance? Was it the lake? Or had it simply been a teen joking around as Paige suggested?

I had no idea. And I would probably never find out.

As I loop a second lap around the lake, my mind drifts back to my awkward encounter with Mr. Darcy. I saw him again yesterday.

He had been the picture of concentration.

I wanted to talk to him again. Have more than small talk, but how could I do that? I had become friends with Finn and Rose. I saw them often, and they shared a class with me, who I could vent my frustrations too because they were also going through similar struggles.

I didn’t know Mr. Darcy.

Didn’t know what he studied at Chandrila, what he was reading at the library, or why. Could he be a grad student researching his thesis?

By the third lap, I was out of breath and thirsty. I decided to end my laps here and head home. It was still early in the morning, but I had enough time to shower and eat before heading off for class at Chandrila. I jog up to a water fountain in the shade of an oak tree and am thankful for this tree as the water that emerges from the fountain is crisp and cold. After rehydrating myself, I take even breaths hoping to steady my breathing.

I was closer to the lake now, and as I gazed at its calming waters, my eyes zeroed in on a peculiar formation in front of the lake. Something white and oddly shaped. I walk towards it, and my stomach flips. Bones. More bones. This time they’re lined up together in a neat row like freshly sharpened pencils.

Messy teenagers or not, something was going on in the sleepy city of Takodana.


	4. Death at my door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Brief mention of animal death. Starting in the paragraph with the line "Rose come on" and ending with "i know what Rose's thinking."

Chapter 4 Death at my door.

I snapped a picture of the bones before I left. I wanted proof to show Paige that something was up. Bones seemed too elaborate for a silly prank. It was the beginning of the year, not Halloween. Maybe it wasn’t anything bad. The newspaper hadn’t reported deaths, violence, or anything out of the ordinary. This week Takodana daily news reported on a resident’s cat celebrating their 15th birthday. But something was off, and I wasn’t as convinced that it was nothing.

I’m sitting at my desk, my holographic folder open, and a typed-up sheet of what was my first draft of my pride and prejudice paper hanging out of the pocket a day after my discovery. I had planned to slip it out, and begin editing my work, slashing sentences that didn’t need to be there, highlighted things to expand on. But I had gotten distracted sometime between slipping my draft onto my desk and scrolling through Instagram.

Today’s study music was Harry Style’s new album. His voice echoed softly in the background as I scrolled through pictures. I double tapped a photo Finn had posted, a selfie of him and Rose enjoying tacos from the only decent taqueria around here. It occurs to me then that it’s been a while since I posted a photo of my own to my feed. I snap one quickly, throwing up a peace sign with my rough draft in the back.

When I swipe right to select the photo, the previous pictures I had taken appear as mini thumbnails. I hadn’t thought much of the bones since snapping the picture. School had taken much of my energy. I post my photo and tap back through my photo album.

I zoom in on the photo of the bones noting their different colors. Some were a bright white while others were a pale gray, one looked like it came from a chicken wing. Some of these looked real, but the bright white bones looked painted. Why?

I’m so consumed by this photo that I don’t react to the sound of my door squeaking over or the sound of padded feet nearing me.

“Whadda you got their Peanut?” Finn asks over my shoulder. He smells like his usual birchwood and honeysuckle, but I catch a note of cinnamon and ginger that leaves me spinning around in my seat.

Finn innocently munches on a cookie while his other hand holds the Christmas themed cellophane bag. He peers over me, trying to get a better glimpse at the photo, and I snatched the bag out of his hand while he’s distracted.

“Hey!”

“Where did you get this?” I hold a cookie under my nose, sniffing the delicious scent of cinnamon and ginger spice. Given how soft these cookies feel between my fingers, I know it is fresh and by whom.

“Mrs. Tico gave me some when I dropped off coffee for them this morning.” He holds his hand out for the bag, but I slip it behind my back.

“How many?”

“I don’t know a handful maybe. They were in a Christmas baggie. Can I have my cookies back?” Finn whines, but at my stone expression, he begins to pout.

When Mrs. Tico starts baking, she has a habit of churning out lots and lots of cookies. There was a chance she might have more waiting at the shop. I give Finn his bag back but not before slipping a cookie out for myself. He doesn’t protest to this.

“So, what are you looking at?”

I hand my phone to Finn and take in the way his eyes study the picture, his eyebrows crease together, and his lips purse. I take a bite out of my cookie sadden to see that this small bite has already made my cookie decrease to half its size.

“What is this?” he asks.

“I found them like this at the park. They’re bones.”

“Not human bones.” Finn would know, he was pre-med. “This one look like they might belong to a bird,” he points at a longer curved bone, “and this one maybe a fish,” he traces the shorter bone with his finger.

“They remind of chicken wings, not weird to find those at the lake.” Littering wasn’t a big problem in Takonda, but it still happened. Especially in big recreational areas like the lake.

“Yeah,” Finn scratches the back of his head lost in thought, “It’s weird to find them gathered like this, though. “It looks like something out of a horror film.” Suddenly a mischievous look overcomes Finns' face and I barely have time to react before he runs out of my room with my phone. “Rose!” he yells.

I run after Finn and try to tackle him before he can reach his girl friend’s room but his legs are longer and he had a head start. He flops himself down on Rose’s bed and kicks his feet up padding in the air like he’s about to tell his girlfriend some hot gossip rather than scary the shit out of her.

“babe, got a minute?”

If there was one thing I learned about Rose ever since living with her it was that she hated anything to do with the paranormal. Last Halloween, Rose was even hesitant to enter the aisle with zombie limbs, and undead animatronic, when we went shopping for décor, after much pleading from Paige and we had settled on a happy light-up ghost for our porch.

Later, Paige had explained to me that on trips back to Vietnam with their parents as kids, an aunt had sat all the children down and began recounting the ghost stories that came out of that particular town they lived. Rose was naturally afraid, and Paige had a hard time convincing her younger sister that they were just stories.

Finn by now had to know this about her so he was just being a dick.

Rose is sitting in her white office chair scribbling away in a notebook she slowly swivels towards her boyfriend and taps the pen in her hand back and forth against the page.

“Sure, what’s up.”

Finn hands her my phone and I hopelessly watch the exchange. I needed to come up with a quick lie.

“Rey found them down at the lake. What do you think?”

“You found them like this?” She asked a hint of alarm in her tone. Okay, so she wasn’t totally freaking out.

“Yeah. Don’t they look like leftover chicken wing bones?” I make my tone light hoping her mind wouldn’t jump to any conclusions.

“Huh. I guess some of them do,” she pauses turning my phone over in her hand, “This is really weird though.”

“Witchy almost?” Finn supplies.

Rose makes a dismissive sound from the back of her throat, “stop don’t even say that.”

“What do you think it’s for?”

“Summoning Satan of course,” Finn shrugs.

Rose shakes her head, “Truthfully I don’t know.” she hands me my phone, her expression thoughtful, “I don’t want to think they’re for something dark because if I go there I might have nightmares.”

“See Finn. Maybe you should listen to your girlfriend.” I stick out my tongue at him and pocket my phone.

“Whatever.” Finn rolls over onto Rose’s bed and stares up the ceiling, “Rose secretly agrees with me but can’t admit it.”

\--

“What is that?” Rose stops so abruptly out the door that I collide with her back. My hand reaches back behind me to feel for the lock on the door. After assuring it’s on, I gently nudge Rose forward, but she refuses to move.

“Rose, come on. We’re going to miss-” I cut myself off suddenly as I notice what has startled my friend. Resting on our porch is a small gray mouse. Its body stiff, gray fur matted all over its body. 

“Rey, I hate to say this-”

“Then don’t,” I cut Rose off quickly and shut the door close behind me. I sidestep Rose and squat to examine the mouse. Its eyes a glassy haze. Ants march all over its body as if it’s just another mound they need to cross.

I know what Rose is thinking. This is an omen. I had hesitated to tell her about my odd encounters —for this reason—I didn’t want to worry her. But that’s stupid, and a mouse is hardly threatening.

“But you have to consider it’s a possibility! There was definitely something off about those bones you showed me the other day. I didn’t want to admit but now we have a dead mouse magically on our porch! Whoever left the bones like that must know you’re picking up their signs. You need to delete that picture now before this weirdo decides they need to meet you face to face before they sacrifice you to Satan. I won’t lose you, Rey. Neither will Finn and Paige! We can’t lose our best friend!”

Rose wraps me in a tight embrace by the end of her declaration. My ribs ache at her strength, and I attempt to hug her back, but it’s a bit awkward with her backpack, so I settle for patting her soft black hair.

“No one is going to sacrifice me, Rose” I want to roll my eyes, but that won’t help ease Rose’s anxiety, “Hux’s cat Millicent probably killed it. He loves to tell us how refined his cat is, but house cats love to bring their owners little sacrifices. Millicent probably got distracted on the way home and left it here. Besides, Takodana is a super safe city!” I say these words aloud, attempting to voice them into truth. I couldn't be sure if this connected to the bones in the park, the timing was a mere coincidence. “I doubt we have witches or cults hanging out here.”

That’s the only explanation I can think of. I would be lying if I didn’t admit it made me a tad bit uneasy.

Using a fallen leaf, I toss the mouse in the bin, and it makes Rose feel a bit better. She doesn’t bring it up again on our walk to the bus stop.

\---

After class, I head into work. Mrs. Tico greets me with a cup of tea and a baggie of her delicious homemade cookies. For Christmas, she had gifted all of us a bag of her homemade cookies. I had devoured them that same night while Paige tried to ration hers, Rose hid them in her room for easy snacking, and Finn-well, I wasn’t all convinced he hadn’t grouped his cookies with Rose’s. He often stayed at our house late into the night.

Rose arrived at work with me at the same time but left with her father soon after. Mrs. Tico explained it was to grab lunch for everyone. That was one of the things I loved about working with the Ticos they always fed their employees. Mama Tico leaves me to guard the register while she heads into the storage room in search of Valentine’s day decoration.

“Just because Valentine’s day is still a month away doesn’t mean our customers aren’t thinking about it already,” She had explained before disappearing to the back room.

My list of duties today included checking up on the marked down Poinsettias now that we were in the post-Christmas clearance. The holiday wasn’t so long ago, but some of the Poinsettias were beginning to droop. Mrs. Tico had a knack for bringing the flowers back to life, often singing to them in her native Vietnamese and pouring a special watery concoction into their soil, but these poinsettias were stubborn. I move them all outside and flip the sign over to a blank side, with a sharpie I scrawl 99 cents each. Next, I grab a watering can and begin to water the flowers out on the patio. Then I grab my phone and take a picture of our lovely bicycle for our Instagram feed. The bike had been my idea. I had found it by someone’s garbage bins awaiting collection day on a walk home from school last fall. When I wheeled the bike into the flower shop, Mrs. Tico had asked me why I had even bothered. Rose had examined the scratches and concluded they were an easy fix with some sandpaper and a new paint job. Mr. Tico had helped patched up the hole in the tire. And by the end of all our TLC, the bike was now a beautiful addition to our shop.

Rose had spray painted the bike a vibrate turquoise with a white wire basket in front. We rotated the flowers in the basket weekly. I snapped a picture of it with some long-stemmed lavenders perched in the basket. Behind the bike, was the Tico flowers sign carefully painted in Paige’s smooth hand. Paige had painted those letters on in high school, but they were beginning to fade now with time. I made a note to add this to our list of maintenance duties. Maybe I could pass the task onto Rose or Mrs. Tico because they had lovely handwriting. Once my photo session is complete, I head back inside to enjoy a light snack before Rose and Mr. Tico arrive.

I’m perched behind the register, seated on a tall stool munching on a ginger cookie and sipping tea, my feet kick the empty air when the bell above the door, chimes alerting me to a new customer.

“Hello, Welcome!” I call out towards the front. My view of the customer is obscured by the tall Birds of Paradise that sit proudly on empty crates in front of the register. These needed to be moved now that they had gotten so big, but I hadn’t decided where to put them. I crane my neck around the tall stems and catch a glimpse of a tall stranger dressed in all black. I only spy the back of his black wavy hair as he studies our arrangement of potted roses.

“Let me know if you need any help.” At the sound of my voice, the man turns his head to meet my eyes. “Oh, it’s you” I had believed my voice was pitched low, but at the slow smirk that crosses Mr. Darcy’s lips, I know he heard me.

“Are you done reading my copy of Pride and Prejudice?” He calls out to me, eyes still intent on the roses, but I detect a playful edge to his voice.

“Almost I’ll make sure to come find you in the stacks when I’m done,” I don’t mention the awkward encounter we shared while at the study tables.

“I’m not always there,” he pauses briefly, and I notice the way his hands fist tightly before he crosses his arms. “But yeah, when you're done…” he trails off, studying a bundle of peach roses.

By the time he strides up towards the register, he has lost any trace of that amused smirk, his jaw is tight, and his face passive.

“Do you happen to have any Dahlia’s?” his voice is deep and a little scratchy. Up close, I get another peek of his moles. I want to count them, want to feel them under the tip of my index finger touching each one.

“We do,” I set my tea down and hop off my stool and slip into my professional voice. Mrs. Tico had headed upstairs a while ago to lay down. She had the beginnings of a headache, and I had waved her off promising to watch the shop on my own until Rose and Mr. Tico returned.

“Are you looking to make a bouquet? Or just buying a single flower. We offer both.” No one ever buys the single flower except for middle and high school students who buy them for their partners.

“A Bouquet.”

I exit out of the register area and head off in the direction where we keep the Dahlia’s. Oh, a bouquet, a special occasion then. “These are all the colors we have today. Would you like me to gather them in a colorful bouquet, or would you prefer a single color?”

“Purple. She loves purple.” He says in a sure-fire way like he’s telling me that the sky has always been blue. He crosses his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to bulge. I try not to stare, but my cheeks flush, and I curse myself. I did not need this jerk to clue in on my attraction of him. I turn back to gather the flowers, hiding my face away from him.

She loves purple. I file this information away. Tall, dark, and handsome has a lady. I know it shouldn’t disappoint me as I barely knew this man. Of course, someone as attractive as him had someone. Obviously. Even though he was jerkish and disregarded the safety of others.

“Awesome. I’ll cut down these stems, and you can choose a ribbon from our selection over there.” I point towards our ribbon wall behind the register. Rose kept the ribbons in constant rotation, bringing new ones out and lining them up on the wall. I grab a garden shear from under the register and begin to cut the Dahlia’s over the small worktable.

Mr. Darcy stands over me, observing everything. His arms remain cross, but he shifts from foot to foot. I get the impression that he’s unsure about the purchase. He only seemed to know that his intended loved purple so purple flowers should have been enough. I debate in my head whether I should step in and provide some expertise. He hadn’t explicitly asked for help.

“Inner strength and creativity,” I mumble under my breath as I snip the stems. Fuck it, he was getting some help, but it was up to him to listen.

I wasn't required to learn all the symbolic meanings of flowers, but when I was hired last summer, I took the extra time to study them. How could I work here and not know these meanings, not be able to help a customer who was unsure of what to purchase? This knowledge especially came in handy during Valentine’s day when confused men and women wandered into the shop asking for help.

“She’s one of the strongest people I know,” Mr. Darcy replies, ducking his head down to meet my eyes.

“You must be lucky to have her in your life,” I smile, my polite customer service smile. He exhales a deeply troubled sigh, and my scissor hover over the next stem. I sensed sadness within that sigh. Perhaps he needed these flowers to make up for a fight. 

“I was, we don’t talk much anymore, but I send her flowers every year on her birthday. I don't want her to think I forgot.”

The gears begin turning in my head, and I gently place the scissors down. My mind grasps at all the different meanings I had studied.

“Rosemary, it’s meant to symbolize memory, and purple Hyacinths are a way to ask for forgiveness.” He looks shocked, and I backtrack, “Sorry I didn’t mean to pry” sometimes, customers didn’t like it when I gave these suggestions. I was trying to get better about waiting for them to ask for help first, but I couldn’t help it. I had a desire to help people in any capacity I could. But Darcy looked like he especially needed all the help he could get.

I resume cutting the steams, “The Dahlia’s will look lovely.” I comment, he continues to study me his eyes flicker across my face, “We can add one or two orange ones to make the colors pop if you want.”

“Okay, add them.” I duck my head down, feeling a bit embarrassed under his stare, but at the sound of his voice, I glance back up, “add the Rosemary and Hyacinths too. I trust you.”

I am beaming, “She’s going to love it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you also got told spooky stories from family members.


	5. Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAA. I'm sorry for uploading this so late. I got distracted watching 90 day fiance🤡. I'll try to upload the next chapter sooner since this one is a little short.

Chapter 5 Ben

I run into Finn at the printers on Thursday. My class had finished Pride and Prejudice, and we were now heading into our next read, Macbeth. A tragic play, starring some witches, an ambitious general, and murder. Our professor had sent my class a document highlighting important plot points from the novel. We could take notes as we liked, but Professor Wexley wanted us to pay attention to these specific points.

I liked having these study guides. They helped me generate questions while also allowing me what parts of the novel I could skim. These guides also helped Professor Wexley weed out the students who were existing in his class and those who put in the effort. Wexley didn’t care if students weren’t paying attention in his class because after all, he wasn’t the one paying to attend them, he did care about focusing his energy on the students who were putting in the work rather than lecturing bored ears.

Finn spots me at the printers as soon as he enters the library.

“Hey, Sunshine!” He calls out, veering straight towards me, “what are you up to?” Finn is wearing the white cable neck sweater that Rose’s parents had given him this past Christmas. They had gifted Rose a matching one too. I thought it was super cute.

I feign wiping sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand, “Busy. This week I have back to back exams and another book to read.” I hold up the copy of Macbeth to emphasize my suffering. This time I had looked ahead in the syllabus and had checked out my copy of Macbeth before professor Wexley announced it as our official read.

Beside us, the printer exhaled a soft sign as the last page from my study guide settled into the tray. I collect my papers and shuffle them into a neat pile. “At least my math homework will be easy.” I crane my next to side as I look to Finn, “What about you? How have you been holding up?”

Finn fingers the strap of his red backpack, “It’s been tough getting back on schedule, but I cannot afford to slack off. Do you remember our first year here when it snowed?”

My brain drifts back to the previous year when Finn and I became fast friends at orientation. Finn had been in good and bad foster homes all his life, while I lived with shitty parents until last year. We bonded over our mutual struggle and the resilience we had found in ourselves. Our first-year college had been hard, we had much more freedom than ever before, and the workload needed some getting used too.

Our orientation mentor had commented on Chandrila having the best hills to slide down when it snowed. And at first sight, of snow Finn and I spent many hours sliding down those hills when we probably should have been studying. Once the snow cleared, we could have easily gone back to our studies, but after receiving a tip from another fellow student about using big blocks of ice to slide down the hills, we were back to our old racing games. We both struggled to pass our classes then, but Finn had Rose then, and I had, well, I had a very distracted Finn.

I shake myself out of my thoughts. It wouldn’t happen again. I staple my small packet together and slide it into my holographic folder I had gotten from the dollar store. I called it my homework holo.

“Hopefully, we’ll get some snow soon. I’m dying to race Rose.”

We had squeezed a race in after finals this past semester, but Rose wasn’t able to join us. She had a scheduled final at the last hour by then most students had left for the holidays, and the school café and offices had closed for break. Finn and I played in the snow while we waited for Rose, but by the time she finished, she needed a nap, so we just headed home.

“"Good luck beating her,” I snort Rose excelled, and almost everything she did. It came off as effortless, and when I first met her, I had thought she was just naturally gifted. Now that I lived with her, I realized she stayed up reviewing, reading ahead in her books, and sometimes copying her notes into another notebook. Rose was incredibly smart and was on track to graduate a year earlier for her efforts.

“I got to give it my best effort, Peanut. Speaking of my other half, what are you doing right now? Rose and I are heading out for Korean Barbeque. Want to join us? I’ll buy you an extra serving of kimchi.

The offer was more than tempting, but I wanted to finish my homework and possibly get a jump onto my weekend homework too. If I finished it all now, I could spend the weekend reading Macbeth.

“Thank you, but I’m going to spend a bit of time here and finish some homework so I can just get home and sleep.”

Of course,” Finn laughs, “I’ll try to sneak you some to go,” He takes a glance out the windows as the sun is starting to set. “It’s getting late though, at least let me give you a ride home after dinner.”

I don’t protest to this. Rose and I hated taking the bus home at night. It was one of the main reasons why we are carefully saving up for a car. Since Rose and I lived together, I didn’t feel as guilty accepting rides from Finn as he was always over at our house anyway. Finn gives me one last wave goodbye before leaving, and I head up to the fourth floor.

The tables are unusually crowded. And I catch some students huddle together in a small group, a whiteboard stolen from some supply closet. I head off to the most secluded table, in the back tucked between the stacks. I adored this table because of its view of the student lounge and diner hall. When my eyes grew tired of staring at my work, I often looked out and squinted at these students, trying to put names to faces. Most of the time, this table was occupied by shy couples who liked to hold hands when doing homework. Today though, it had one lone occupant.

Mr. Darcy.

We were still practically strangers, but that day in the flower shop, my heart had softened a bit towards him. He’s sitting there with fingers tightly gripping strands of his hair from his face his gaze is intense as he turns the pages of the book he’s reading. Plus, I did need to return his book, and with that resolve, I drop my backpack on his table and pull the seat out. The noise startles him, and he glances up at me.

“Hi?” He looks confused, but then the grip from his hair loosens a fraction as he glances up at me.

“How did she like the flowers?” I slowly pull down the zipper of my backpack, my fingers grasping the edge of the holo folder. He tracks my movement with his eyes but lights up at my question. 

“They were well received. Thanks for that…” he trails off.

“Rey.”

He sends me the smallest sliver of a smile and repeats my name “Rey.”

“What’s your name?”

“Ben.”

“Ben,” I say, hitting him with a megawatt smile, “mind if I sit here? All the tables are full, and I need to finish my math homework here.” My hand disappears back into my backpack, and I grip my pencil bag it had been Rose’s old makeup bag, but when her collection grew, she had given it to me to start my own. I was still a beginner, learning the ins and outs via youtube, so I was using it for my pens.

“Um sure,” he pushes his book closer to him, making space for me and my things. It’s funny, his book and my things could have all easily fit without adjustments. Ben turns his attention back to his book using the edge of the table to balance it between him and his body.

I take another peek in my backpack and spot the copy of Pride and Prejudice. “Oh, hey, I finally finished it.” I slide the book towards him, “I left you some notes.”

Ben glances up from his page and picks up the copy he studies the cover intently, “This was less beat up when I lent it to you.”

I shrug my shoulders, innocently, “I might have fallen asleep while reading it.” The cover had folded at an odd angle while I slept, and when I smoothed it back out, it now had a white crease running across the cover.

Ben flips through the pages quickly before putting off to the side. “Any other classical novel of mine you need to ruin, let me know.” He comments before returning his eyes towards the book in front of him.

“Got Macbeth?” I joke, “no, I’m okay for now, but don’t be surprised if I take you up on your offer. You an English major?”

“No.” he answers without looking up, he flips another page of his book “I technically don’t go to school here.”

I pause at that. Although it wasn’t uncommon to see regular citizens of Chandrila wondering the university library, I would haven’t guessed Ben to be one of them. Although he did look older than a lot of the students here, that wasn’t uncommon either. Many students took gap years or served in the army before attending school.

“So, what are you doing here? Your own research?” What a nerd.

“Yeah something like that,” He looks at me briefly and I catch the smallest sliver of a smirk before he ducks down into his book.

I dig back into my bag, and my fingers grasp something cold and round. My apple! I had grabbed it after meeting Finn and Rose for lunch at our school’s café. I mostly bought the apple to appease Finn, who worried I didn’t eat enough veggies now that I started running again. I place the apple at the top of my math homework. It would be my small reward for completing it.

As I’m pushing my backpack towards the far corner of my desk, I notice Ben’s hand reach out and snatch the apple.

“Hey!”

“What. I’m hungry,” he shrugs before taking a big bite out of the side.

“That was going to be my snack,” I pout.

“I’ll buy you another one.” He voices over his crunches.

It’s quiet between us, the only sounds coming from my wooden pencil scribbling answers down, and Ben, flipping the occasional page. After the fifth math problem, I glance up at Ben, he’s focused on his book again, and something he reads causes his eyebrows to crease and his lips to frown.

I wonder what he was reading. I stretch my arms over my head and stretch my neck my eyes naturally fall onto the page he’s reading trying to pick up on some hint of its plot. The only words I’m able to make out from my peek are “demon” and “magic.”

Odd. Must have been a supernatural-themed novel.

I continue with my homework, enjoying the silence and his presence. My mind fully absorbed in my work that I don’t notice the way the afternoon sun descends into the horizon or when darkness embraced the night sky. I’m broken out of my daze when my phone vibrates a long continuous pattern that I recognize as a text notification.

Finn.

“Hey, Rose and I are outside whenever you’re ready,” I reply with thanks and carefully tuck homework holo and my pencils back into my backpack.

“Leaving so soon?” Ben comments and glances up at me, and for a second, I become lost in his brown eyes. Whoa, he had beautiful long eyelashes.

“Yep, that’s my ride,” I zip up my backpack after I break eye contact, “See you around Ben,”

“See you, book thief.”

I raise my eyebrows at that before allowing a small smile to reach my lips. I wave one final time before turning and heading out of the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that a Death Note Reference? Maybe so!
> 
>   
> 


	6. Odd Taste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update because the last chapter was short. Enjoy!

Chapter 6 Odd Taste

During work, the Tico’s send me out on a coffee run, so I take a short walk down the street to rebel bean. Finn is working today, and when I walk into the café, I find him wiping down the counter with a smug look on his face. His coworker, Kaydel has her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, and she looks annoyed, but her expression quickly changes once she sees me.

“Rey! Hey! Haven’t seen you around in a while,” she beams at me, and I detect a hint of relief in her eyes.

“No way, Solo! Rey isn’t going to save you now,” Finn persists.

Kaydel shakes her head and throws a dirty dishtowel at Finn, “I told you I don’t have a secret admirer!” Kaydel was a second year too and was in a few of my general ed classes. She was studying business and worked at Rebel Bean, which her family owned.

“Who else sends flowers on your birthday.” Finn bends over to pick up the fallen dish rag and throws it somewhere under the counter. I stuff my hands into my hoodie and feel the thin paper Rose had handed me crinkle. Before leaving the shop, she had slipped a note in my pocket and given me instructions to deliver it to Finn. So here I was playing messenger for Romeo and Juliet.

“Well it’s kind of stupid,” Kaydel looks down at her shoes, and a small smile begins to grow on her face, “I’ve always gotten flowers on my birthday, my mom too. They started arriving at our door the year after my older brother went missing when I was 7. There’s never a note, but mom and I like to think they come from him.” She pauses, and her smile looks almost sad, “Wherever he is now.”

Finn’s playful demeanor falls at the admission, and if I were closer to him, I’d pinched his arm for teasing Kaydel. I send him an icy glare instead before melting my features into a sad smile for Kaydel.

“That’s beautiful Kaydel,”

she smiles again, and this time it looks genuine, not the fake customer service smile I was using, to pasting on my face. She shrugs her shoulders, “it’s probably my dad, honestly. But it’s nice to imagine.”

“Kaydel, I’m such an ass-” Finn begins.

“Don’t worry about it, Finn.” Kaydel shrugs, “I would have assumed the same thing,” she turns back to me, her face composed, and her customer service smile slides back in place as if we hadn’t been discussing her missing brother two seconds prior, “What can I get you?”

“Two house coffees, one iced coffee with a shot of condensed milk, and an earl gray tea for me.”

After I hand Kaydel the money, I slip Rose’s letter onto the counter. Finn spots it and gets a goofy look on his face. He pauses in his duties to read it, but I stare at Kaydel’s back as she works on my order, my heart aching. She still grieved for her brother all these years later, but her quick smile made me want to hug her.

I spent many nights wishing for better parents hoping even that some stranger at the supermarket would spot my sad smile, notice my dirty clothes, ask if I was fine. I had wished for caring parents back then, but now I admire my strength.

Kaydel was strong too.

\---

I am summoned to the stacks again this time in search of Beloved by Toni Morrison, a book that my African studies professor wanted us to read and discuss together. I have my phone gripped in my hand again while my index finger scans the number sequences on each of the books here. When I find the correct title, I grab the book and slip my phone back into my pocket. The space that the novel had once occupied causes the books next to it to fall over, so I slip my hands between them and try to stand the books up once again. The books refuse to stand tall, so I press firmly, thinking the pressure of my fingers should convince these books to stay in place.

It doesn’t.

When I move my hands back, the stack of books falls away, and I sigh. I glance away from the books briefly to think on a more practical solution when my eyes catch sight of Ben.

I peak at him through the top of the fallen stack he’s studying at the same table as last time, the lone one tucked away in the stacks. His elbow rest on the table, fingers pinch the page of the book. To his left is another pile of books stacked tall enough to kiss his chin.

He’s very studious, and I think back to my grad student theory, but he had already admitted he didn’t attend school here. So, what was it that he was reading?

Ben flips the page of his thick book, his eyebrows furrowing together. I squint at the stack of books next to him, trying to read their titles, but it’s pointless they’re too far, and the print only resembled squiggles from here.

I should interrupt him. Make some mindless chatter maybe even work up the courage to say, Hey, I think you’re cute do you want to go out?

Because despite he’s brooding personality, I did think he was cute. Additionally, the day at Tico’s flowers had given me a change of heart.

But what if he said no? We were practically strangers. In high school, I hadn’t cared about dating, and at Chandrila, I was too occupied with my jobs, homework, and adjusting to living with a bunch of students my age to date. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a deep longing whenever Finn and Rose acted like love birds around me.

Maybe a peak at the books he was reading could inspire me to break the ice. 

With a new mission in mind, I duck between rows of bookshelves, hoping to get a good peek at the titles. I tiptoe closer and closer until I have a clear view. Finally, I think as I read them _The History of Witches_ , _Witchcraft Through the Centuries_ , _Demonology 101_ , _The Science Behind Ghosts._

Huh.

These were odd choices. Was he secretly goth? He didn’t dress like one, but in the past few times I had seen him here he was wearing a lot of black. Or was he just interested in the paranormal? I somehow doubted the people who hosted those ghost investigating shows did this much research before a hunt.

Summoning some courage, I stroll to the other side and drop my backpack on the table it makes an echoing thud, but Ben doesn’t flinch slowly he raises his gaze to me.

“I was wondering when you would come over here,” he smirks and, without breaking eye contact, flips his book to the next page.

“You saw me?”

The fourth floor had its crowd of usual suspects, but this section of the library was bare. Although I had noticed a student asleep on a couch as I ducked between shelves.

“Hard not to notice the white blur ducking between the shelves,” his eyes flit back to the book in front of him, but despite this, I feel my face flush. I try to shake off the lingering embarrassment by pulling the chair out and sitting.

“What are you reading?” I fold my arms over the table and rest my chin in my left palm. Ben glances up at me briefly before breaking my gaze.

“Just reading up on some history.”

“The history of ghosts?”

“No nerd, the history of demons,” Ben grants me the pleasure of allowing me to watch as his eyes roll back into his head.

I hum at this as if I understand completely.

I don’t, not really. I never had a deep inkling to dive into the world of paranormal beings’ humans were complicated enough. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely fascinated by the bones I had found at the lake. Who was living them there, and for what?

I have an internal debate with myself on whether showing Ben the photos I had snapped at Takodana lake would lead to him teasing me. I had convinced myself that they probably meant nothing, but there was a small part of me that believed in the possibility of something more.

The worse that Ben could do was tease me about it. Which I was beginning to think was just how he flirted.

I slip my phone out of my pocket and call up the photo of the bones before passing it over to him.

“Maybe you can help then. I keep finding these bones down by Takodana lake,” Ben immediately comes to life and accepts my phone into his large palms. It’s a bit comical to watch his tall form hunch over my phone and pinch the screen with his fingers to get a better look. His head even tilts to one side. “Do you think it’s the work of a cult?”

Ben’s expression is thoughtful as he glances up at me, but I catch his fingers twitch at the mention of a cult, he shakes his head.

“No. A witch maybe,” He says completely serious.

A witch.

Not a cult or bored teens, but a witch. Maybe.

He slides my phone across the table, it hits my arm lightly, but I barely notice.

“As in tarot cards and crystals?” I think of Kaydel as I explain, she likes to wear a purple crystal around her neck which I thought was cool, but once in our math class, I overheard her offer a girl a tarot card reading.

“More like black cats and potion makers,” at my frown, he clarifies, “I was kidding about that.”

“Oh.” I glance down at my phone once more, “do you know what these bones might have been for?”

“I can’t be 100% sure, but from what I’ve read, bones can summon good fortune. But other times, they’re used to put hexes on people.”

“Do you think this person is using these bones to curse?” I stiffen. If there was a witch in the area, how would we go around stopping them? Who would believe that? Paige would not buy it. I couldn’t even tell Finn or Rose, who knows how those two would react.

Ben leans over and takes another long look at the photo.

“I don’t know where these bones came from, but some of these bones look like they could be from chicken wings.”

I throw my hands up in the air, “that’s what I told my roommate, but her younger sister is still spooked.”

Ben chuckles at this and crosses his arms, “They’re probably harmless.”

I ponder this around in my head for a bit. I wanted to believe this person, but my gut tells me that there’s something off. My mind conjures up the dead mouse I stumbled across my porch not long ago, and I frown down at the grains of wood on the table.

“You don’t think so?” Ben leans a little forward in his seat. His palms coming to rest on the smooth surface of the table.

“Well,” I lick my lips before meeting his eyes again, “this might be a coincidence, but the other day there was a dead mouse on my porch. It freaked my roommate out.”

“Dead animals can be a sign of a hex, but it seems weird that the same person who is casting spells with their leftover lunch is also killing animals.”

I smile a bit at this ignoring the feeling in me that wants to think the opposite, “that’s comforting.” my phone switches off to its black screen, and I catch my reflection. My face is a little flush, and the mascara I had put on had smeared under my eye. I groan internally.

“but,” my eyes flash back up to Ben, any joking expression on his face is completely gone, “if you keep finding them, let me know.”


	7. Tamale Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Description of an animal's death towards the end of this chapter beginning with the paragraph "a crow flies towards us." 
> 
> An extra-long update this week. Hopefully, this will tie you over until next week. No Ben in this chapter :( He'll be back next week!

Chapter 7 A Tamale Party

Rose makes me change into an old grey t-shirt before we leave the house. I had planned to wear a blouse with blue flowers, but Rose insisted it was better not to risk it getting grease stains. In the end, We were all dressed in leggings and faded band tees.

I threw my hair up into three buns my go-to while out running. This hairstyle was the only thing I had been thankful my mother had taught me.

As we walk out of the house, both sisters looped their arms through mine, effectively caging me in as we walked down our street. I can’t help but feel as if they’re using me as an anchor to make sure neither of them runs off before we arrive. Rose hums softly to herself while Paige examines the neighbor’s lawn.

“Look Rey, Hux got a new garden gnome.” She points to the ceramic gnome with a mushroom growing out of its head. I briefly think it’s odd given that Hux tends to keep his garden neat and plain. The man's décor mostly consists of trees and green bushes. “His mother must be visiting,” She snickers.

Hux was a few years older than Paige, and ever since he moved into the neighborhood, Rose has claimed him as her sworn enemy. Hux works long hours, and Rose prefers staying indoors, so their interactions were limited. The extent of their rivalry I had seen was limited to creative insults. Such as “Satan's helper” for Rose, and “fugly ass mama’s boy” for Hux.

Paige thinks Rose secretly likes him.

I think they'll throttle each other if left unattended.

The Andor’s lived at the end of the cul de sac, in a red house with a vegetable garden out front. Currently, a white and orange-spotted cattle dog was out front sniffing the vegetables. Jyn stood over the dog in a light gray cardigan sweater we wave at her as we came up their driveway.

“No BB, not on the vegetables!”

The dog determined the vegetables were unworthy of his presence and scampers off to smell the avocado tree in the corner. BB circled the avocado tree a few times before lifting a leg and peeing on it.

“I didn’t know you guys got a dog!” Rose exclaimed, breaking the hold she had on my arm to squat low on the ground and make cooing sounds at the dog. Paige giggled at the sight.

“BB-8 is our godson’s dog. He’s visiting us for another week before heading back to Coruscant.” BB, the ever-obedient dog, puts his leg down and comes trotting up to Rose, tail flicking side to side as he sniffs her shoes. Paige melts on the spot and releases my arm from her iron hold. She drops to her knees next to her sister, which causes BB to wag his tail. Rose gave the dog’s soft belly rubs while Paige scratched him behind the ear. BB loved the attention so much that his canine tooth popped out from his upper lip. The exposure made the sisters coo even more.

“Are you excited about today’s class?”

I gave BB gentle pats on his head before joining Jyn by the veggies.

“Oh! I’m even more excited to have some for dinner later.” I pat my flat stomach, which makes Jyn laugh. She motions me to follow her inside the house.

“That’s arguably the best part.”

The interior of the Andor house was all white, with mismatched picture frames hanging in the entryway. The first frame that caught my eye was a photograph of a young Cassian standing in the streets with confetti in his hair, and the Mexican flag wrapped around his shoulders. The people standing with Cassian are wearing a green soccer jersey and earsplitting grins. I guess this was after a world cup match. The happiness that photo radiates brought a smile to my face. I’d have to ask Cassian about it sometime.

The focal point on the wall was his wedding picture. Both Andors have earsplitting smiles as they gazed at each other in adoration.

It was the kind of love I’d hope to experience for myself one day.

_Maybe you are about to._

_Yeah, maybe._

The smell of corn dough and spiced pork meat permeated throughout the whole house. My mouth watered in anticipation, and I wondered why Rose and Paige dreaded the sights and smells of Tamale day so much.

I leave my shoes in the hallway and pad further into the house a long table sits in the living room with chairs from the kitchen pushed in tight. Cassian emerged from the kitchen in a baby blue apron and carrying a giant bowl of white dough.

“Rey! You’re here. Rose and Paige ended up convincing you to come after all?” Cass sets the bowl down on the table and wipes his hands on his apron. He greets me with a hug that's more sharp elbows than a warm embrace. His hands are still a bit oily from the dough he prepared. “Sorry, my hands are a bit greasy.”

“Rey is super excited,” Jyn inputs patting my shoulder lightly before disappearing into the kitchen. Cassian laughs at that too.

“I promise you it’s not so bad, and the end results are always worth it.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Last year I had the pleasure of trying Cassian’s tamales for the first time, and they were delicious and juicy. The drink he made to go along with them was thick and creamy, and I hoped he had plans to make it again just for us. “Where do you need me?”

“Take a seat at the table. I just need to bring out the rest of the ingredients, and then we’ll get started.”

It was a little warm in the house, so I elected to take off my hoodie, and I had almost completely tugged my sweater off when I heard a deep voice from down the hall.

“Nino! I can’t find my hair gel did you move it?”

The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it over my current state of sweater suffocation. I gave the hoodie one last tug and freed myself from its cotton confine only to come face to face with a tousled hair Poe Dameron.

Holy shit!

“Oh, hello. You must be one of the neighbors. I’m Poe, Cassian’s godson.” Although his hair was in a slight mess, Poe still flashed me a charming smile as he extended his hand out to me.

Whoa, even his smile is the same as it is on tv. I snap myself out of my daze and force myself to introduce myself.

“I’m Rey,” My hand is quick to slither out from my side and connect with the infamous Poe Dameron. Rose and Paige were going to flip once they came into the house.

“I didn’t touch your stuff, mijo, but if you need your moco de gorila that badly, I’ll run off to the store. Come and meet the neighbors.” Cassian called out from the kitchen; he emerged the next second, holding another big bowl full of red meat. Jyn trailed behind him, holding a smaller bowl full of corn husks. “Oh good, you met Rey. Where are Paige and Rose?”

A quick glance behind me reveals a smiling Rose, holding what I now knew to be Poe Dameron’s cattle dog. Why hadn’t I connected the pieces earlier? BB was all over Poe’s Instagram page, and his name was super unique. Paige spots him first, her mouth dropping into an O. She stands there frozen for a couple of seconds, and I can’t help the giggle that escapes me.

She recovers just as Poe swallows up the distance between them. Paige immediately hits her sister with the back of her hand.

“Whoa,” Is all Rose can utter.

“I see you met BB-8. I’m Poe.”

“You hold the corn husk like this in your palm, then you spread two spoonful’s of masa all over the husk, next add the picadillo-the meat, and lastly carefully fold the sides closed just like this. Simple enough!”

It didn’t look all that bad. Paige and Rose were complaining about that? It was simple.

“We could always make an assembly line too. It goes faster that way,” Jyn explains as she folds a tamale.

Currently, everyone had small bowls filled with red meat and masa along with a pile of corn husks. I sat next to Jyn, while Poe sandwiched himself between the sisters. Paige was having a hard time focusing on the task at hand, given the small peeks she kept sneaking at Poe when he wasn’t looking. Rose was a bit more subtle in her ogling, only glancing at Poe after ever other tamale she folded. BB was kicked out of the tamale station by Poe. The cattle dog had hopped onto the couch and made himself resemble a loaf of bread. His eyes followed us with each tamale we passed down to Cassian, who had a big bowl of our creations.

“Despite what Paige and Rose told me, I imagined this process to be more nightmarish,” I comment as I spread a spoonful of the masa onto the corn husk.

“It is! We’re just getting started, Rey. You’ll be complaining soon enough,” Rose had been quiet up to this point but pipes in to defend herself. Cassian chuckles at Rose’s protest, and Jyn shakes her head, causing the short strands of her she let down from her bun to tickle her face.

“I think Mexican tamales are less time consuming than the Guatemalan ones my mom makes,” Poe comments, “She insists on making everything from scratch the way her mother taught her. Luckily, we grew up in a diverse area, so finding banana leaves to wrap them in wasn’t too hard. My mom would probably laugh at Cassian’s recipe if she didn’t find them so good.” Poe sends Cassian his infamous heart-stopping smile, and the older man grins and finishes folding the tamale in his hands.

“How did your parents come to grant Cassian the title of your godfather?” I was genuinely curious, how two families from two different countries met and formed a friendship. A friendship that ran so deep as to grant guardianship over a child, in the case of the parent’s demise.

“Well…” Poe began sneaking a glance at his godfather, “I always wanted to be an actor. I had been in a few commercials as a kid, but when I was 8, I got a call from my agent about a telenovela in the works in Mexico City. The producers were looking for fresh actors. So, my parents and I went to Mexico City to audition. I got the part only to learn that Cassian Andor was starring in the leading role of this drama, and I would be playing his neighbor.”

“Cassian, you were in telenovelas?” Paige’s interest swerves from Poe to our neighbor, who shrugs his shoulders like its no big deal.

“He was in a lot before he retired and moved to the states. One of the most famous telenovela actors in Latin America,” Poe brags.

“Whoa,” Rose’s expression becomes star-struck again as she glances at Cassian. I can see the memories she has of her neighbor flit through her mind. Even I glance a bit differently at Cassian. It was hard to reckon my kindhearted neighbor having a successful acting career. Now I only knew him as a homebody who threw the best parties. Although I had assumed, he must have had a good job to be able to retire at his age. Poe’s voice shakes me out of my daze.

“Well, since my parents were always on set, we all became quick friends. And next thing you know, I’m in a church about to receive holy communion, and Cassian is there holding a rosary proclaiming himself my nino. And that was that.”

“How have we been neighbors all these years, and you never bothered to mention this little detail?” Paige sets aside her newly folded tamale and grabs another corn husk, all without breaking her gaze from Cassian.

“I didn’t think anyone would care. It was a long time ago, anyway.” Jyn reaches a hand across the table to give her husband’s hand a light squeeze.

“Do you have any DVDs of your old telenovelas, Nino?”

“No-” Cassian responds at the same time Jyn says yes.

“I wanna see them! Jyn go put them on!” Rose demands. Jyn smirks and gets up from her seat. She wipes her hands on a dishrag and drops a kiss on her husband's head before pulling a box out from under the TV. Paige gasps and hits Poe in the arm in her amazement.

“Aye dios mio,” Cassian shakes his head, a tired smile on his lips.

\----

Poe invites us out to coffee the next day, but we must pick the café because all the places he has visited so far have been trash. Of course, we settle for Rebel Bean. Paige is a little nervous and pushes me to sit shotgun. Before we left the house, she had fidgeted with the pink sundress she had chosen for the outing, and while I sat on her bed watching her apply mascara, she voiced her biggest fear.

“What if he doesn’t like Rebel Bean? We’ll never be able to go there again.”

I snort, “I doubt his coffee obsession is that serious Paige.”

“We’ll have to hide our cups!”

I glance at Paige through the rearview mirror and catch the twitch in her eyebrow as she pushes take out boxes to the other seat. Rose couldn’t make today’s outing. She had a meeting with her advisor about a possible internship at a video game company in Coruscant. Rose was studying engineering, but her dream job was to work on games. She would be joining us later.

Poe drums his fingers on the steering wheel. He’s wearing reflective sunglasses that make it hard to see his eyes, the day is a bit overcast, so I assume they’re a disguise more than anything. He idles at a stop sign and motions for an elderly couple to cross. His car is a hybrid, so the hum of the engine isn’t as prominent as other cars. The car barely vibrates, which feels weird. Before continuing forward Poe calls back to Paige,

“Sorry for the mess, haven’t had much of a chance to clean it.”

I don’t get the chance to see Paige’s expression as we lurch forward, I spy a thick stack of white papers held together by binder clips laying amongst a mess of more crinkled paper and junk. I duck to grab it, slapping aside some receipts in the process. I fan the pages out once catching Poe’s attention.

“My agent sent me that script yesterday.”

“Was it for the newest episode of rebel hospital.” Paige pipes in from the back, Poe grins.

“So, you’re a fan?”

“I’ve seen a few seasons.”

I snort. Paige has seen them all and then watched them again. Although, I’m not about to admit that aloud to Poe. The light switches to green, and Poe maneuvers onto the main street of Takodana. Tico’s flower is on this corner, but today it’s closed.

“Not for rebel hospital. My agent sent me this role for a space drama movie. He wants me to read for the lead role.”

“That’s awesome!” I may have had my fan lenses on, but just from watching Poe on Rebel hospital, I couldn’t help but think that he was limiting himself.

“You think so?” Poe glances at me briefly as the car inches forward up the street, “I’ve been in some indie movies but nothing blockbuster worthy. My agent thinks this could be the role that pushes me into the spotlight.”

“Well, if the writing isn’t bad, I’m sure you’ll become a big-time actor in no time.” But sometimes even those movies tended to weasel their way to the top.

“Oh, trust me, the plot is phenomenal” Poe reassures me, “I have an audition for it once I get back to Coruscant.

Poe pulls into Rebel Bean and shows off the self-park feature much to my own amazement. It was pretty cool. As we enter Rebel Bean an idea sprouts into my head.

“Let us run lines with you!

“Do you really want to? It’s not that fun.” Poe holds the door open for us, and I duck under his arm. Paige maneuvers around him with a smile, but after hearing my offer, she quickly switches gears.

“Yeah, Poe! it’ll be fun!”

“Yeah and if the plot is as cool as you say it is, I want to know what happens,” I had a preference for space-themed sci-fi novels, particularly the ones with a romantic subplot.

“Hi, Paige. Hey, Rey.” Kaydel greets us behind the register. She glances towards Poe behind us as he studies the menu, and I watch as her eyes widen before taking him in. Poe had decided to wear a soft brown leather jacket with red shoulder patches and a grey shirt tucked in between his black pants. If he was trying to blend in, he wasn’t doing a good job at it. I grin.

“The usual for both of you?” Kaydel asks as she grabs a paper cup, her black sharpie posed in her other hand, ready to take down our names.

“Actually, I’ll take a frozen hot chocolate, Paige?”

“Just the usual in house coffee blend for me,”

“And for you, sir?” Paige glances at Poe, who is frowning at the menu.

“I’ll take an iced cold brew,” Poe hands Kaydel his card before either Paige or I can even unzip our purses. I shrug and deposit my extra cash into the tip jar. He gives Kaydel such a dazzling smile that I applaud her for not melting on the spot. She hands Poe’s card back with an even bigger smile, and Poe ducks his head down as he slips his card back into his wallet, but I catch a small grin on his face.

Oh, so he was just a big flirt. Poe turns his attention to the pastries, and as Kaydel gathers ingredients, she calls out over her shoulder towards me. Paige wanders over to the pastry display too, and I decide to stay near the counter and let her have some time alone with Poe.

“Finn mentioned you and Rose were looking to purchase a car.”

“Yeah. Rose needs one in case her internship pans out, and it would, of course, be cool to drive to school every once and a while.”

“I might be able to help with that,” She comments just as the blender whirls to life. “My father sells used cars at his shop,” she calls over the hum.

“I thought he sold tires and did smog checks?” Kaydel dumps the frozen hot chocolate into a cup before ducking down for a canister of whipped cream.

“He does. But he sells cars on the low too. I could talk to him if you want.” Kaydel pops back into view and swirls whip cream onto my drink. She pushes it towards me when she’s done and turns back to complete the other drinks.

“Yeah, that be a big help! Thanks, Kaydel.”

We settle onto a table with four chairs. Poe chooses the chair across from Paige and me so that his back faces the door. He removes his sunglasses while Paige and I watch him take a cautious sip of his drink. He smacks his lips a few times before taking another sip. From beside me, I hear Paige catch her breath.

“Acceptable?” I ask over my sip of what’s essentially a chocolate shake.

“Yeah, this is better than I expected. I think I finally found a decent coffee shop in this town.”

We spend the rest of the afternoon making aimless chatter and learning all the silly things Poe has encountered during the set of Rebel hospital.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with Holdo, but she always has to have a tomato and cheese sandwich before any big scene, which I don’t mind. Beats kissing someone with onion breath. Paige snorts at that, causing some coffee to dribble out of her mouth. Poe grins at and pushes some napkins towards her.

“So those rumors about you and Holdo?” I casually mention as Paige wipes her mouth. Poe’s jaw tenses.

“That we’re dating? Not true. We don’t exactly get along.” He shrugs, but I catch the way his shoulders tense.

Interesting. I decide not to press further for now. But I’m curious. Poe and Holdo’s character have a steamy relationship on Rebel Hosptial in the current episodes Hold breaks off their short-lived relationship when her old love comes back into her life. Their on-screen chemistry was electric, and given Poe’s reaction, I was certain there must have been something between them at some point.

“I love both of your characters on the show you guys are my OTP,” Paige gushes. Poe’s shoulders relax, “but I gotta ask, is there any chance you’re going to get a boyfriend on the show? I’ve read an interview you did about that being a possibility.” “

“Hopefully. I haven’t seen anything from the next season, but I’ve been dropping hints that my character might be attractive to more than one gender since the beginning.”

“So, you’re confirming the theories!” Paige squeals.

“I thought you said you only saw a few seasons,” Poe teases, “but yeah.”

“I knew it! The rebel hospital fangirls are going to freak out! Can’t wait to post this on my fan blog.”

Poe laughs at Paige’s antics just as footsteps approach our table.

“Hey, guys.” Rose greets as she drops into the empty seat. Her backpack hits the floor beside her feet. Finn stands at the head of the table he has his work apron tossed over his shoulder and a canvas bag on his shoulder for his comfortable shoes. I smile at him briefly before turning back to Rose.

“How’d your meeting go?” I ask. Rose grabs Paige’s cup and shakes it between her fingers before bringing it to her lips for a sip.

“It went well. I have an interview with the company soon. Sorry, I couldn’t be here earlier, but Mrs. Rollins was having some issues. I felt bad leaving her office without asking if she wanted to talk about it.”

“Mrs. Rollins is always a mess,” Paige comments, this wasn’t the first time Rose had come to us complaining about her advisor.

“Yeah. But she has a good heart, and she’s good at opening doors for her students despite her messy life. Anyways what’s new with you guys?”

Finn clears his throat just as Rose sets Paige’s coffee back down. “Oh, shit right, Poe, this is my boyfriend, Finn” She waves between the two men, and Poe offers Finn his hand.

“Hey how’s it going man,”

“I got to start my shift soon, but it was nice to meet you.” Finn turns back to Rose, “Do you want anything?”

“An iced coffee would be great! Thanks, babe.” Finn waves goodbye before heading off.

“We should probably head back. I don’t know about you, ladies, but my ass is tired of these seats.” Poe comments before standing up and stretching his arms over his head, “But first I’m going to grab some cookies for Cass and Jyn. You guys want anything?”

At our resounding no’s Poe heads off to the counter.

“Okay spill, What have you guys been discussing?” Rose leans over towards us, her palms flat on the table.

As Paige explains the juicy details Poe spilled about Rebel Hospital, I find myself tuning out. Finn emerges from the kitchen, now dressed in his apron he makes a beeline towards Poe at pastries. Kaydel disappears to the back before reappearing again in a white tee and dark jeans. She waves goodbye to Finn and heads out to the parking lot. Poe laughs at something Finn says, and his laugh is so booming that it catches the attention of the Tico sisters.

“Wonder what they’re discussing. Anyways so,”

I frown as I notice Kaydel slip into a bright yellow mustang before pulling out of the lot. There’s a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I think I’ve seen that car before but where?

\---

We all hop into Poe’s car for the ride home, and Rose makes a face at all the trash in Poe’s backseat. Silently Poe digs the loose papers out and tosses them in a trash can nearby. He makes a big motion of holding the door open for Rose and Paige. My mind is still trying to make the connections between Kaydel and the yellow mustang, but I come up empty.

A crow flies towards us, and I don’t think much of it, assuming it would pass over the car in a graceful glide, but instead, the bird hits the windshield with a definite crack. It’s small body twitching as it falls back onto the hood.

“What the F-”

“Holy shit!” Rose cuts Poe off.

Really what are the odds?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thick and creamy drink- Known as atole is a warm corn-based beverage. It is often made with the same dough as the tamales. They come in many different flavors such as strawberry, chocolate, or vanilla. My mom makes it with Guavas and it hits different on Christmas morning with a warm tamale.
> 
> Nino- Short for Padrino and is the spanish word for Godfather. Madrina is the Spanish word for Godmother and is shortened to Nina. The more you know ;)
> 
> moco de gorila- Gorilla snot. Moco de gorila is a [hair gel](https://www.target.com/p/moco-de-gorila-punk-squizz-hair-gel-11-9oz/-/A-13974383) most commonly sold in Hispanic grocery stores. It's really popular lol.
> 
> Mexican tamales recipe- if you're curious, check out this [video.](https://youtu.be/4xiwU4mNDwY)
> 
> Curious about Guatemalan tamales? [A short video explaining how Tamales are made in Guatemala](https://youtu.be/jO9l60zcY1A)


	8. A Date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is about to kick-off!

Chapter 8

A Date?

The following Monday, I seek out Ben, but when I find a couple holding hands at his usual table, I start searching through the stacks. I scan through the rows and rows of books, my irritation growing the longer I can’t find him. I turn a corner towards one of the stacks near the panoramic window. I duck my head between the popular nook and spy the empty plush chair in the corner, but just as I am about to give up hope and onto looking into some online spiritual healers, my eyes catch a lock of black hair. I head down this row only to find Ben, his back to the end of the tall stack, and a book in his lap. He doesn’t even look at me as I slide down the wall opposite him and stretch my feet.

“Hello Rey,” he greets with a flip of his page.

“Why are you hiding out here?” I flop my backpack beside me, making sure it’s in clear view of any passersby who might want to wander this way.

“I needed to charge my phone,” Ben explains as he juts, his chin out at the black cable connected to the outlet on my right. “Something wrong?”

“I think I’m cursed,” I sigh in defeat. This catches his attention, and he sets his book aside. Ben’s knees are bent, in this tight corner, but he leans forward anyways.

“The bones again?” His eyebrow quirks at the question.

“No, not the bones.” I lean forward too so that our faces are mere inches apart, “another dead

animal.”

“It’s probably no-“

“It’s not nothing. A crow crashed into my friend’s parked car I was in the **front** seat!”

Ben hesitates. I continue.

“The bones are always in my path, that mouse was too and now this crow. I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that there’s some dark force after me.”

Ben chuckles, “What!” I seethe, “you’re the one who said this person was harmless!” I run a hand over my face as I exhale a long breath.

“Sorry.” he chuckles again, “It’s just that you look cute freaked out like this.”

I feel the blush spread across my cheeks and am unable to stop it, “Ben-“

“It’s just,” Ben rolls the palm of his hands over his knees, “maybe I’m having a little trouble comprehending the whole thing because I’m not the one stumbling upon the signs.”

“You said to come to you for help.”

“Yeah, and I meant it. But maybe,” Ben glances down at his knees, “maybe we should take a field trip. You said you keep finding the bones by Takodana lake, right? Maybe we should go together and see if there’s anything there.”

Is this a date?

Or some kind of scooby doo adventure.

“Fine, but you’re driving me home.” On the off chance that Rose and I had to take the bus home in the dark, we would do it. But we just preferred not to. Damn, we need that new car asap.

“Deal.”

Ben drives a 2019 mustang GT in black. When he unlocks the doors, the taillights flash a brilliant red. Stunning. I always admired mustangs but had yet to ride in one.

Now, as I sit in the front seat and listen to the purr of the engine, I can’t help but let my hand wander over the red leather interior. It feels like butter against my palm. Oh, sweet lord.

When I glance back over at Ben, I catch him raising an eyebrow at me.

“I love like mustangs,” I confess while my other hand extends to grip the red leather of the steering wheel.

“I’ll let you borrow it sometime,” is his casual answer as he bats my hand away. He puts the car in reverse and twists his body to scan for pedestrians behind us. His palm comes to rest at the back of my seat as he continues backing up. “Are you in the mood for sushi?” he asks as we exit the parking lot.

“Sure. Sushi sounds good.”

Definitely not a date. We never had that conversation, but I wasn’t going to turn down sushi.

Chandrila has many nice restaurants downtown, but because of my tight budget, I hadn’t eaten at many of them. At first, I think Ben is going to take me to one of those fancy restaurants, but instead, he pulls up to a restaurant that’s a little more hidden and behind a donuts shop.

As we stumble into the restaurant, I’m taken aback, so many pots of fake cherry blossoms and a mural of swimming koi fish cover up one side of the wall. As I'm scanning the restaurant, my attention zones in on all the different plates of sushi moving around on a conveyor belt-like tiny little boats.

“Whoa,” I gasp.

“It’s an old family restaurant and probably the only one in this area with conveyor-built sushi,” Ben explains.

The restaurant is chilly, probably to keep the food fresher. I run a hand up my arm and note the goose flesh there. Ben places his hand on the small of my back and guides me forward towards the boats. In front of the belt is a counter with condiments and dining seats. Like a cat on the hunt, my eyes hungrily track the sushi as they float past me.

“They charge you by the plate rather than what you grab, so feel free to get whatever you want.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice just as I reach out to grab a plate of floating sashimi a waitress appears to take our drink orders. Once she’s gone, I drizzle some soy sauce on my plate and dig in.

“Good?” Ben asks before popping a sushi roll in his mouth. At that exact moment, my cheeks resemble a squirrel in hibernation. My face flushes with color, and Ben meets my eyes the slight smile on his face makes me feel a bit better as I chew my food. “This is one of my favorite places to eat. My family owns a lot of the restaurants on this block, and I rather not see them.”

So, it wasn’t just his sister. Ben seemed to have issues with the rest of his family too. I wanted to ask what happened between them but instead play it safe.

“You’re not on speaking terms with your family?” I ask once my cheeks return to their normal size. He’s hasn’t brought them up much in the few weeks we began speaking to each other, and I didn’t know much about them except that he always sends flowers to his sister on her birthday.

“We had a big falling out when I was seventeen,” Ben drags his tuna roll around in a soy sauce puddle as he speaks, “said some nasty things.”

I don’t press him for the details. Not yet, at least. I take a pensive sip of my soda as I think about my next question carefully.

“I don’t speak to my family either. They were more like bad roommates than parents.” I chuckle, recalling the times I had to sweep up broken glass. I always had to wear shoes in the house, just in case. “Do you miss them?” I ask as the soda settles in my stomach.

“I do. I send both of my parents’ gifts on their birthday mom gets flowers, and dad gets a dozen donuts. I don’t leave a note. I’m not ready for them to find me yet,” his chopsticks pause midair, and he glances up at me, “Do you still talk to your parents?”

“No way,” I shake my head, “I use to send them some money when I first moved here, but I stopped,” it felt like I was feeding their addiction rather than helping, “they call sometimes to ask for more money,” I frown recalling the latest call. I felt a little guilty for changing my number after that, but I couldn’t help them. Not anymore.

Before Ben can destroy his piece of sushi any further, I snag it with my chopsticks and plop it into my mouth. Immediately, my face sours at the tasty.

“So salty,” I complain. And for the first time since I’ve known him, Ben cracks a smile. It’s a brief and closed mouth, but it’s there. The sight of it makes me want to snap a picture, but I don’t want to ruin the moment. I do vow at that moment to make Ben smile as much as possible.

\---

“You run this path every day?”

“Not every day. Most days, sometimes more than once.”

“Hmm.” Ben hums scanning the dark trees. There aren’t many people around, but I spy some middle schoolers playing soccer under the low light of the park’s lamp.

“What?” A fat drop of water hits my cheek, and I glance up the sky. The clouds aren’t obscuring the moon, but they’re dark enough to be rain clouds. Ever since moving to Chandrila, I had become accustomed to the random rain showers, I often danced under the drizzle. Tonight would be no exception.

Ben glances at me out of the corner of his eye, “It’s just that this park is on a crossroad.” Ben pulls me to the edge of the pathway and points at the entrance. “Cars can come through that way and that way, behind us and in front. From what I read, crossroads are like nexus points of energy.” Ben frowns, and his face grows passive, “show me where you’ve found the bones.”

“This way,” I explain sliding my arm out of his grip, the drizzle picks up intensity, and I hear the group of middle schoolers exclaim out loud before continuing with their game feeling bold I take hold of Ben’s hand instead and lead him first to the tree. “I found the first formation under this tree on New Year’s day.”

Ben bends down, his fingers splay on the dirt before he glances up at the tree. “I’ve haven’t read anything about the significance of a tree. But it seems a kind of odd that they would be here.”

“well, duh captain obvious, I found the second pair in front of the water.”

Ben’s eyes flash, “In front of the lake?”

I nod as he straightens up to his full height. I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “does that mean something?”

“I’m not sure, but I have a hunch. Water is one of the four elements, so finding the bones under this tree would make that earth. That's two. Does this park have fire pits?”

I nod my head, “yeah, they’re popular in the summer for cookouts.”

“Show me.”

I take Ben to the nearest fire pit, and he kneels once again, eyes searching the ground. He comes up empty.

“What if you’re right and the person is using the four elements. What does it mean?”

“A crossroad and the four elements are both indications of power. I think whatever this person is up too they’re trying to conjure something big.”

“And the animals?” I recall the way Rose ran inside Rebel Bean for napkins and a bag. The stuttering body of the crow flashes into my mind.

“I’m not sure about that. It could be connected too, but as you haven’t found them in this park, maybe they’re unrelated.”

As the water continues to rain down on me, for the first time, I don’t feel comfort from it.


	9. The Ticos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday everyone! Enjoy another chapter of Rey pining for a grim reaper 😊

Chapter 9 The Ticos

I don’t tell my friends about the new info Ben gave me. I don’t know how to without freak them out. Especially, Rose. After the crow incident, we huddled in the backseat with Paige each of us hugged Rose’s side while Poe drove us home. Rose wasn’t crying, but she was shaking, we all were.

The next day I arrive bright and early at Tico’s flowers. Rose was supposed to come in with me, but she traded shifts with her dad so she could eat breakfast with Finn. The shop isn’t even open when I arrive, so I knock on the back door. In my hand, I clutch a bag of warm breakfast burritos I had bought near my bus stop.

Naturally, I was feeling a little stressed about the whole someone is trying to summon something at Takodana lake, and there’s probably nothing we can do to fix it kind of deal. Oh, and there may or may not be some sort of Hex on you.

I ate when I was happy. I ate when I was stressed. I could probably finish all the burritos I had bought if I wanted, but Mr. and Mrs. Tico were always making sure I ate, so it was the least I could do.

When Mrs. Tico finally opens the door, she greets me with a wide smile, “Good Morning, my Rey of Sunshine!”

“Good morning, mẹ!” I greet. Mrs. Tico had quickly taken me under her wing when she hired me here. She didn’t hesitate to dote on me like she did her other children, and although it made me a little uncomfortable at first, I found myself not minding it so much anymore. “I hope you and your husband are hungry, I brought breakfast burritos.”

“With Chorizo?” Mrs. Tico asks as she bites her lip.

“Of course!” I laugh as she waves me into the store.

I deposit my purse in the backroom before heading out to the front of the register I carefully slip out the tin foil burritos from their plastic bag while Mrs. Tico runs upstairs to get drinks. Mr. Tico ducks in from the back room when he catches a whiff of food.

“Smells good!”

“Yes, I got that from that place Cassian loves, you know the one in front of the bus stop, Luna’s.”

“Ah yes, they do make delicious food there.” Mrs. Tico comes back with a gallon of orange juice and some cups. While Mr. Tico pulls chairs from various corners of the shop. He deposits the cushioned chair from the cash register in front of me and motions for me to sit.

As we eat, the Tico’s pepper me with questions about school. These I learned where much more than small talk the Tico’s genuinely cared how I was doing in school.

“I did get a C on my English paper,” I confess, frowning at my burrito. It was my Pride and Prejudice paper, and despite lamenting over it for two weekends, Professor Wexley left a note on my paper that said although my paper was well written, I never answered the prompt’s question.

“You’ll do better next time Rey, I know it.” Mr. Tico says as he takes a sip of his orange juice.

“Yeah, do not worry Rey! I always told Rose and Paige never to stress over school so much. All that matters, in the end, is the degree,” She laughs and tosses her head back. The thing about Mrs. Tico’s laugh was that it was so infectious I couldn’t help but to also cackle along with her.

\--

After breakfast, I slip on the pale-yellow apron with the Tico’s sunny logo on the front. There’s a wide pocket in the apron where I keep my shears for easy trimming. Mr. Tico heads out to open the doors and air out the “burrito smell.” I busy myself with trimming the excess leaves off some roses I spy in the front of the store my mind wandering back to that night with Ben.

We had made plans to check out Takodana lake again, this time in the daylight, and we exchanged numbers to make the process easier. Despite that I still hadn’t texted Ben’s number with a confirmation of hey, it’s Rey. But he hadn’t either.

I liked Ben, but I wasn’t sure if he saw me as a friend or someone who had an odd connection to something paranormal.

I hoped it wasn’t the latter. Sure, it was the connection that was bringing us closer together, but he didn’t have to buy me sushi.

He also didn’t have to loan me his copy of Pride and Prejudice.

“Rey, stop frowning at the Roses and come over here, please.” Mrs. Tico breaks me out of my stupor and motions me over to the register. I slip my shears back into my apron and head towards her. At the workbench, she had spread out different types of flowers and twigs. In her hands, she bent white and red roses into the shape of a crown. “I watched this video on youtube a few days ago and learned to make flower crowns. We could sell these in the store during Valentine’s day and Lunar New year. I know it’s still a few weeks away, but I thought we could have a small trial run.” With that, Mrs. Tico plops her finished crown on top of my head. “You look so pretty!” Mrs. Tico calls out to her husband in her native tongue, and Mr. Tico turns around from where he’s picking out dead flowers from the vases.

“Beautiful!” He grins before turning back around.

“It’s super simple here let me show you!” Mrs. Tico exclaims as she flips open the bi-fold case on her phone and opens the app.

The video is straight forward, and I find myself aiding Mrs. Tico on her latest project. Business is a bit slow, but we do garner attention from customers who eye us making crowns and question if they’re for purchase. Thus, we garner up some publicity for valentine’s day. Which I’m sure will only increase some more when we post some pictures on the shop’s Instagram.

“Rey. What is the matter?”

I’m taken off guard by Mrs. Tico’s question, and the frown that had been curving on my lips deflates just a tiny bit. The few customers that were here have trickled out of the store.

“What do you mean?”

Mrs. Tico gives me a withering look that tells me she’s not buying my nonchalance. “Is it that grade you received in your English class.”

“No,” I sigh before making up my mind, “It’s just that I met someone,” her eyebrows fly up at this, “and I’m not sure if he wants to date me.”

I decide to keep it simple. No paranormal side ventures.

“Ahh, I see. Rose was the same way when she was “talking” to Finn.” She emphasizes talking.

“I remember. They were both so bad.” I hadn’t met Rose at the time, but Finn was a wreck constantly checking his phone, one minute he went from smiling at the wall in his dorm room to asking me if I thought Rose was dating anyone. I couldn’t answer because I had no idea. Later I had heard that Rose was also a bundle of nerves.

“It’s just that he bought me sushi the other day, and he offered to lend me his car because he knows I don’t have one yet. And it’s not an old car either. We exchanged numbers too, but he hasn’t called or text-”

“Rey. It sounds to me like you already know the answer.” Mrs. Tico pats my hand gently, “do you want some water?”

“No, thank you.”

Mrs. Tico stands and ducks down to open the mini fridge behind the register. She twists open a clear plastic bottle with her palm, “why don’t you call him. You have his number, no?”

“Yeah.”

Mrs. Tico’s eyes swerve to the clock on the far wall, “It’s time for your break anyway.”

I head out the back to take my break my phone in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Mrs. Tico had suggested I call him, but the thought of that made me want to bite my nails down to stubs. What if he didn’t answer? Should I leave a voicemail? What if he did. Gah!

Sending a quick text would take two seconds max. It was waiting for the reply that was nerve-racking. But at least a text took the pressure off of waiting for Ben to pick up.

With my mind made up, I send a basic, “Hey, it’s Rey!” and exit my texting app. Ben doesn’t immediately reply, which leaves me cycling between apps on my phone until I head back inside. I cycle back to Instagram, and a new post by Paige pops up at the top of my feed. In it is a photo of her and Poe with cheesy smile captioned to new friendships. The comments are a series of keyboard slaps, omg, and heart emojis. I double-tap the post just as my 10 minutes are up.

Towards the end of my shift, Rose comes in with a big smile on her face. “Oh, Rey!” she sings songs pressing her palms down in front of the workbench. “You’ll never guess the good news I have to share with you.”

“Okay, but put this on first.” I hand Rose the flower crown I had created earlier with her mother, “Your mom wants to sell them for Valentine’s day and lunar new year” I slip my phone out of my pocket and make a note of the lack of text notification.

“Oh, how do I look?” Rose strikes a quick pose, and I quickly snap the picture.

“Gorgeous your eye shadow is making the colors pop,” I show Rose the photo, and she makes a show of tossing her hair behind her shoulder.

“I did finally master the look. Anyways back to what I was saying…” She pauses for dramatic effect. “I finally have a date for that internship interview! It’s next week.”

“Yay! I know you’re going to whoa them Rose!”

We hug over the register.

“I need to go tell my parents! Are they upstairs?”

“Yeah, they just went up.”

With one last smile, Rose disappears upstairs. My shift ends in five minutes, and the store is empty. I still needed to finish up some English homework before I headed off to class. I could do some quick review in the library but, what if Ben was there? It could be awkward, but he was the one who hadn’t answered my message, so I shouldn’t feel weird about it.

The bell chimes and I shout a quick welcome that breaks myself out of my thoughts.

“Kaydel!”

“Hey Rey,” She greets me with a smile before turning her attention back to our herb station. Adding rosemary and lavender to bouquets wasn’t our most popular option, but they perfumed that small section, so Mr. Tico insisted they stay. Kaydel grabs a bundle of rosemary and heads over to the register. “I needed some Rosemary for a project, and I didn’t feel like heading to the grocery store after my shift,” she shrugs. I turn around briefly and pull at the jupe rope on the wall carefully, I tie the rosemary together and pull at the brown paper to wrap them in.

“I love the smell of rosemary. The one we sell here is so strong and organic the Ticos grow it themselves.” Although the Ticos had relinquished their house to their daughters, much of the house still had their touches. The garden was one of them. We had a big Rosemary bush out front, along with a cluster of different herbs that we sold in the store. Mr. Tico often swung by to water it. On times he couldn’t, he’d send his daughters are I a text to check up on it. Rose and Paige didn’t mind, and it gave their parents an excuse to visit.

“Oh? I should start my own herb garden then.” Kaydel chuckles, and I slap on a Tico flower symbol on the rosemary and trade it for the bill Kaydel hands me. “It was nice seeing you Rey, let me know when you and Rose want to head over to my dad’s shop.”

“Will do. Rose is interviewing for her internship next week, so the sooner, the better.”

Kaydel waves one last goodbye before exiting the store. As she approaches her car, I’m once again left furrowing my brow. Where had I seen her yellow mustang before?

My phone chirps in my apron. A text notification. I can’t dive for my phone fast enough.

_I was wondering when you’d text me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mẹ- Vietnamese for mom.  
> I like to think The Ticos have adopted Rey as their own. Let Rey have some LOVE.


	10. Bone hunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Chapter 10 Bone hunting

_I’m outside your house._

Oh, he was insane. I had been lounging in my bed reading a romance novel when Ben had texted me, asking if I had any plans for today. I had replied no, expecting him to follow up with some details, but he never responded, so I laid in my bed for the remainder of the morning. After I had texted him yesterday, we spent the remaining hours of the day texting random shit.

Ben: I think I burned my toaster.

Rey: The toaster?

Ben: Yes, I just wanted a pb and j.

Rey: well what are you going to eat now.

Ben: Guess I’ll have to eat all the apples I bought.

Rey: You still owe me the one you stole!

Paige had already left for work, and I could hear Rose and Finn’s laughter from down the hall. I type out a quick reply on my phone.

_You’re lying._

Because what else was I supposed to reply to that. I push the warm covers off of me and stumble forward in the dark towards my dresser. The sun had risen long ago, but the blackout currents hanging from my window shielded me from its harsh rays. My phone vibrated against the top of my dresser as I pulled open my drawer.

_I’m serious. Come outside._

When I finally stumble out of the house, I wave a quick hello to Maz, who is sitting on her porch knitting. Ben’s car idles in front of the house, plums of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe, as I approach, he lowers the tinted window of the passenger’s seat.

“Hey.” He’s wearing black tinted sunglasses on his face even though the sun isn’t incredibly bright.

“A forewarning would have been nice,” I grumble as I slipped into the passenger seat. The soft leather hugged my body as I settled in. And the cool seat helped melt some of the anger that had been simmering.

“Sorry did I wake you?” He asks before glancing behind his shoulder and pulling away from the curb.

“No. But I was very comfortably snuggling under my covers.” I explain and out the corner of my eye, I catch the slightest quip of his lips. I take a deep inhale of air, Ben’s car smelled faintly like lavender I was going to have to ask him what car freshener he used, “are we heading to the lake?”

“Yeah. Did you eat breakfast?” Ben affords a quick glance in my direction, and I shake my head. Ben flips open the armrest, and when I peek inside, I find two sandwiches secured in Ziploc bags. Something heavy settles into my chest. When was the last time someone had packed me a sandwich? Never. Even now living with Rose and Paige, we often cooked for each other, but lunches were an individual activity as we all had different schedules. “I fixed the toaster,” he explains as I swipe one of the sandwiches.

“Oh, did you?” I grin, taking a bite into the toasted bread. The salty taste of peanut butter explodes onto my taste buds, followed by the sweetness of a banana. I wouldn’t think about the fact that no one packed me lunch rather I’d appreciate the fact that Ben did.

“Why so little faith in me? I’m more than just brains.” Ben scoffs just as the car breaks suddenly, sending me lurching a few inches forward. Ben’s arm comes flying towards me to halt my body from hitting the dash. “Shit, sorry. That cat came out of nowhere.”

My peanut butter banana sandwich is a little squished between my fingers, but for the most part, still edible. I glance upwards and catch sight of the fluffy black cat frozen in the middle of the street. It’s yellow eyes wide. Once she realizes the car is not going to inch forward again, she scurries forward and into someone’s bushes.

Ben returns his arm to the wheel and, the car resumes its trek. I’m silent, not because of shock but because I’m in my thoughts.

Weirdly enough, after I had explained to Ben my odd findings, I hadn’t spotted any more of the bones during my morning runs. I also hadn’t taken anymore morning runs either. It had also been a while that I didn’t find another dead animal in my vicinity. However, the near accident with the cat was suspicious.

Ben rolls the car to a halt in a parking space directly in front of the walking path. Like most mornings, the park isn’t full of people, and I spot a few regulars. Ben grabs his Ziploc sandwich and takes a bite.

“Good?”

“Yeah. I never thought of combining Peanut butter and bananas in a sandwich.”

“Awe but’s the perfect breakfast,” He grins as he takes another bite, “I thought we should check the fire pits today. The witch only needed fire and air. And out of both of those, I’m going to guess fire was the easier of the two.”

It’s quiet for a bit, and in the silence between us, I’m left watching Ben chew his food. He had taken off his sunglasses when we parked and slipped them into the visor above his head. Now that his eyes were bare. I note the dark circles blooming under his eyes. We had stayed up late texting, could those dark circles be my doing?

For some reason, I felt proud of this. Proud that I had taken up so much of his attention. He preferred speaking to me over sleeping. 

_I think you already know the answer._

Mrs. Tico was right. I knew she was. Ben liked me and I liked him so why was asking him so hard. It shouldn’t.

“Let’s try the ones closest to the lake.” Ben's voices breaks me out of my thoughts, and before I knew it, we are both outside the car and heading towards the lake. I stick my hands into my pockets as we walk. Ben sticks his hand out in front of me, his plastic sandwich bag is already in his fist, and I hand mine over to him with a quiet thanks.

Our fingers brush briefly.

A tingle shoots up my arm, and my cheeks flush. His fingers were so warm. How were his hands so warm?

Ben was kind of perfect, and my crush on him only grew more and more by the day. I just needed to do it. And quickly.

“So,” Ben begins.

“Why aren’t we dating?”

I will admit that wasn’t the smoothest confession. I had left the house in an oversized Chandrila hoodie and my lightest pair of jeans. I wasn’t wearing any makeup, and I honestly hadn’t bothered to brush my teeth, I was sure my breath smelled like peanuts and bananas right now. But none of that seemed to matter.

Ben pauses beside me, and despite his hair, the tops of his ears tinge with red. “Oh.”

“It’s just that,” I take a deep breath centering myself, “I like you, and I think you like me too.”

“I do.”

“You do?”

“Of course!” He shoves his hands into his pockets and meets my eyes briefly before glancing down to his feet. “It’s- I didn’t think you’d want to,” he glances back up at me.

“Why wouldn’t I? Ben, you’re kind and let me bug you when you’re reading, you bought me dinner, made me breakfast, offered to let me drive your car whenever I want, and you dropped everything to help me find out what’s going on with the bone sigils. That’s total boyfriend material!” I chuckle at that. Ben was dropping all the hints, and he thought I wasn’t going to want more? Idiot.

“I never had a girlfriend before.”

“I never had a boyfriend.” I pull out my hand from my pocket and wave it in front of him. Ben takes it, and I earn another rare grin of his. His hand is warm and soft in mine.

We walk towards the first fire pit in silence, and I reluctantly let go of Ben’s hand as he examines the ground below it. Nothing. I glance around the park, eyeing the other grills. There were so many, and I couldn’t help but think our efforts could be better distributed.

I nod my head towards the spaced-out fire grills at various points in the park. “Should we split up?”

“That’ll probably be best. Call me if you find anything. I’ll call you too.” He says, his voice back in business mode.

\--

Ew,” I gasp as my fingers brush away a condom wrapper under the grill. Many of the grills had ash tossed under them, which made it perfect for concealing bones but annoying for someone looking for clues.

Ben hadn’t called me yet, so I assumed he wasn’t having any better luck. I right myself back into a standing position and jog to the next grill. This grill isn’t under any shade, and it’s further away from the lake. There’s only one concrete picnic bench in this area. My best guess is that this wasn’t the most popular location. I squat down under the grill just as a windy chill nips my arms.

“Found you.”

“Sure enough, another bone arrangement was tucked under the grill. This time the bones were in a pentagram with the outer circle made of twigs and the star from bones. I sit back and keep my eye on the sigil while I call Ben.

“Found it. You were right about the fire pit.”

“Where are you? I’m heading over.” I give him details of my location before hanging up. The pentagram looks sinister, but I am more taken aback by the twigs. They were tied up with rosemary. I tentatively reach out my hand and pick one out of the circle. I twirl the twig between my fingers. There wasn’t anything special about this twig, but it looked like it had come from this area. The rosemary, however, that wasn’t something that grew here.

I hear Ben’s pitfalls against the grass as he approaches. “This is out of the way. Someone must be getting paranoid,” he comments, squatting down beside me, “Did you take that from the sigil?” there’s a slight edge of panic in his voice that is telling me to drop the stick, but I hold it tighter instead.

“Yeah.”

“Rey, don’t touch the sigil.”

“Oops.” I say as I drop the twig, “do you have hand sanitizer.”

“In the car.”

“Did I mess it up?” I ask staring, at the now disturbed circle. The twig lays a few inches outside of the circle.

“No. You might have broken the sigil at the very least, but I’m more worried that the person who created it might come back and notice someone else messed with it.

My heart drops into my stomach, “Can they trace that back to me?”

“I don’t know.” his features harden as he says this, “I’m going to snap a picture. You should probably go wash your hands.”

Ben drops me back off at home but not before leaning over and kissing me on the nose. He catches me by surprise, and I move closer prepared to show him a real kiss, but we don’t coordinate it well, and his kiss lands under my eye.

“Sorry,” I mumble.

“We’re going to have to work on that,” he chuckles his thumb smoothing the area he had just kissed.


	11. New Car Who Dis?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some creative liberties with the mechanic lexicon. I tried but I can't guarantee it's accurate.

Chapter 11 New car who dis?

I wanted to see Ben before Rose, and I left for Millennium Smog and tires. But Ben had told me he had to work early that morning. He had instead sent me some heart emojis and a good morning text.  
I was currently waiting for Rose to wake up, although she had told me if she slept in, I had full permission to come barging into her room and wake her. I was currently still in my pajamas, deciding what to wear for the day my laptop had my morning playlist queued up. Currently, Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac was softly lulling through the built-in speakers. I had thrown my phone onto my bed, but when I heard the chirp chirp of an incoming text message, I dove for it.

Sorry I can’t come and see you this morning, but I left you some breakfast on the porch. You should probably run and get it before the ants do.

I sprang forward and out my room straight for the door, Paige was sitting at the dining room table drinking coffee and staring down at her phone. “Good morning Rey” she calls to my fleeting figure. The door smacks against the wall in my haste, and once I’m outside, I scan for any sign of the familiar black mustang. I try not to let the disappointment sink to low in my stomach when I realize Ben isn’t here. Instead, I divert my attention to the white box with colorful sprinkles printed on the top. There’s a note written on a yellow sticky note, and I read it as I walk back inside.  
Eat something before you leave.  
“Are those donuts?” Paige asks  
“Yeah” I grin, “take one”

“Rey, I’m ready—oooh dance party?”

Rose stands in my doorway munching on a donut, behind her I catch Poe and Finn grinning as I sway my hips to the music. Heat rushes to my face, and I quickly hit pause. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but I had decided to wear a dress today, and I was enjoying watching it fan out around me in my best Stevie Nicks Shawl twirl. Shorts underneath my dress were probably a good idea.

“Rey, you should have invited us to your party!” Poe laughs as he cranes his head over Rose’s shoulder. Finn is too busy snickering. “Okay, let me grab my purse.” I swipe my small brown crossbody from my bed and put my computer to sleep. Finn and Poe retreat down the hall, and Rose disappears behind them. While they’re gone, I slip on a pair of black spandex shorts and turn off the lights.

I follow Rose to the kitchen, where she bends to grab two water bottles. She hands me one, and when I turn around to head for the door, my face collides into Poe’s chest. 

“Ooof,” I mumble before stepping back and rubbing my nose. 

“Ooops, sorry.” Poe extends a hand towards my face but thinks better about it and lets it hang back at his side, “Hey when you and Rose come back do you want to run lines with me. I know all of you were curious about it,” Poe grins.  
“Definitely. Wouldn’t want to miss that,” Poe’s short stay with us was sadly coming to an end. In the coming week, we would no longer have an up and coming actor to hang out with us. Although I did hope he would return now that he knew other people in this small town besides Cassian and Jyn.

I step around Poe and wave a quick goodbye to Paige. She had wanted to come with Rose and me but had to do something quick at the office. She would be back when we returned. Behind me, I hear Finn and Rose kiss each other goodbye.

“Cool. And tell your boyfriend I said thanks for the donuts,” Poe yells as I step out of the house.

\--  
“So, it’s official?” Rose asks as we board the bus for Chandrila. The address of Kaydel’s father’s shop is further out than either of us has ever gone. However, the young woman had assured us that the bus stop was nearby his shop and with the aid of my phone’s map I was sure we wouldn’t get lost anytime soon.

“Is what official?” I study the map as the bus lurches forward. The smog and tire shop were near the bus stop, so I was confident we wouldn’t get lost.

“Rey,” I can hear the whine in Rose’s voice just as she appears in front of my face with a pout. “I know you’ve been seeing someone. Finn told me he spotted you and some guy at the couple’s table on the fourth floor.”

I am taken aback by that. I had only spoken to Ben at the library a handful of times. How could I miss Finn’s snooping?  
“He lent me his book." I shrug, but Rose huffs beside me, not buying it.

“When my parents came over for dinner the other night, you weren’t quick to jump into the conversation with them, and you kept looking at your lap and smiling! My mom kept sending you smirks! It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me,” Rose’s tone says otherwise, “I just thought we were best friends now.” She shrugs and stares out the window, her arms crossed across her chest. The motion tugs at my heart and I switch off my phone and let it fall in my lap.

“We are!” In the last few months, I had known Rose we had become so close, now more than ever since we lived together. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. That was never my intention.” I poke my index finger at her crossed arms. Finally, Rose releases them back to her sides, “I’ll tell you about him now. If you want.”

“Yes! I need to know all about this guy who has caught your stubborn heart!” 

“Okay, well his name is Ben…” I go on explaining how we met at the stacks and how I was both angry and attracted to him at the same time. I explain how my heart softened towards him when I learned he always sent flowers to his family members even though they weren’t on speaking terms. I’m careful to leave out the parts about Ben assisting me with the bone’s mystery or his theories. I tell her about the time he took me out to eat sushi and how he offered to lend me his car because he knew I didn’t have one. And finally, I tell her Ben kept beating around the bush so I asked him out. 

“Then it’s official Rey, you’re dating! I can’t believe you have a boyfriend.”  
“We haven’t kissed yet.”

“What!” Rose’s abrupt scream makes the other passengers turn their heads in our direction. After I apologize for the interruption, I bring Rose closer to me and drop my voice to a low whisper.

“Well, the opportunity hasn’t presented itself.” I had thought he was going to kiss me in his car, but that ended awkwardly. Now, if the opportunity presented itself again, I would make sure to aim for the lips. 

“Rey listen, you just have to go for it. Guys are kind of dumb about that kind of stuff. If I hadn’t kiss Finn first, we’d still be acting like awkward teenagers with crushes. You just got to go up to Ben and hold his head in your hands and kiss him! He will have no other choice but to kiss you back!”

“But what if he doesn’t want to or even like that kind of stuff,” I grumbled. He didn’t have problems kissing my face.  
“Well, you’ll never know until you try it.”

I could taste Rose’s excitement in the air. She kicked her legs back and forth in her seat and was playing a crossword game on her phone. I stared out the window admiring the scenery. This part of Chandrila was even more green than the small area surrounding the university. The bus chugged along a wide street where the houses resembled mansions. The trees that sat in front of these houses were tall with pink blossoms that swayed in the early morning chill.

As we reached our stop, I tug on Rose’s elbow to break her out of her trance. After examining the map in my hand, I concluded we were only a few blocks away.

“We head straight down that way.”

Rose links our arms together and skips along beside me. Making my phone jiggle in my own hands.

“Rose chill, you’re going to make me drop my phone.”

Rose wasn’t listening, too busy humming along to the song she made up on the spot.

“A new car for Rosey-rose and Rey of Sunshine. No more relying on friends and fam.”

I didn’t want to burst Rose’s happiness bubble, but a small part of me did wonder. What our next move would be if we didn’t find a car today. We needed a car desperately so we couldn’t be too picky.

Millennium Smog and Tires were busy this morning. A tall man in navy overalls stood in front of the shop arguing with a customer although the man’s accent was so heavy, I couldn’t understand everything he was saying. The few words I didn’t catch were curses. 

The customer stormed off inside and ducked into an office. The tall man turned to us with a neutral expression.  
“We came to look at the cars you have purchased.”

The tall man grunted and walked towards the garage, where cars suspended from the ceiling. Rose glanced at me in confusion. We had the right address, but Kaydel had said her father sold cars in secret. 

“Our friend Kaydel told us to come here. She said her father owned this place.” The tall man stops in his tracks and walks back towards us. He motions for us to follow him inside, all the while muttering under his breath. The inside of the store had lots of different tires as expected. We duck immediately to the left and behind a door marked employees only. There we find a break room and a lone office. The man pushes another door open, and I catch a glimpse of a man with greying hair arguing on the phone. His feet are propped up on his desk, and there are two chairs lined against the wall. The man’s eye flicker to us briefly before looking at his associate who shrugs. 

“I’ll have to call you back.” The man places the phone back in the receiver and turns to face the tall man. “What’s going on, Chewie?”

Chewie explains things in his heavy accent, and the grey-haired man shakes his head.

“Kaydel is going to tell everyone my secrets. Well, come on, let me show you what we currently have on the lot.” The man who I assume is Kaydel's father stands up and leads us out of his office and out into a hidden parking lot. “I’m Kaydel’s father, Han Solo, and this is my business associate Chewie.” 

“The Han Solo?” I can’t help the way my mouth drops open. Han gives a little shrug, and Chewie punches his shoulder lightly.

“Who?” comes Rose’s confusion.

“Han Solo. The famous underground race car driver. He used to race all over the world,” he had raced in Jakku once, and my father had sobered up enough to take me to the race under the cover of night. Han Solo had won that race, of course, and my father had been happy to win his bet. But after that night I couldn’t help but imagine what it was like to have Han as my father. We'd always be on the road, and I could help him fix his car when it broke down.

When I entered my teens years, I slowly began to let go of that fantasy and instead converted all of my energy into getting into a university far away. Somewhere where the sun didn’t burn my skin.

“Use too. I gave up that life once I had kids. My wife pointed out that if I died during a race, she’d tell our kids that their nerf herder of a father loved racing more than his family. And I couldn’t betray little Kaydel like that. Anyways all of these cars are for sale,” Han waved his hand out to the row of cars parked in front of us before either Rose or I can say awe. Rose immediately began circling them. The cars looked gently used at best, and if that were the case, we might have to do some serious bargaining. Rose settled on a red rogue, a smaller SUV car, and by the hearts in her eyes, I knew this was her number one pick. However, if there was anything I learned from watching my father gamble away the little money we had, it was that looking uninterested as possible was key. I pointed instead to the car next to Rose, a white corolla. 

“Pop open the hood.”

Chewie looks at Han for assurance before following my request. Han opens the Rogue door for Rose, and she eagerly slides in admiring the seats. I carefully examine all the different parts of the engine but don’t find anything typically out of order. Satisfied, I nod at Chewie to shut the hood and proceed to examine all the cars. Some cars need an oil change, while others could probably use better tires. I realize then that this must be Han’s business strategy, sell the cars, probably for a decent price and then bring customers back by offering them a deal on decently priced services. It’s a dirty strategy.

“How much?” I hear Rose ask Han. She nods at the price her face neutral, but I know that she’s a bit disappointed. That’s slightly over our budget.

“How about 10 for the rogue. She’s used anyways.” 

“Are you crazy?” Han looks at me incredulously I saddle up to Rose and kick the front tire with my boot. She’s a little low on the ground. I allow my finger to run through the ridges, “That’s practically giving it away.”

“Yeah, but these tires are going to need replacing, but you knew that already didn’t you?”

Han’s sets his jaw, and the corner of his lips twitch. The movement reminds me of Ben, but the thought quickly fleets out of my mind.

Rose pulls me aside. “Rey, it’s fine. I can maybe borrow extra money from my parents or Paige.”  
“Let’s not go there yet. Do you trust me?”

“Most days.” Rose's eyes stray back to the car with a deep longing. 

“Well, trust me today. Start the car.” I motion with my chin. Han hands the keys to Rose, who eagerly slides in. The cars purr to life normally, but lights appear on the dashboard with the notice to service engine soon. Everything seemed fine earlier when I checked it. “And the engine is going to need some work. You don’t happen to be a mechanic too?” 

“It’s not normally a service I offer, but I can throw it in for you if you like. I’ll knock the price down to 12 since you know what you’re doing.” Rose switches the car off, and I go in for the kill.

“There’s nothing wrong with the engine beside a loose cap, which I can fix myself. Plus, these two tires need replacing. So, I’d say 9, and I won’t let it slip to your customers to check the tires on their cars.” 

“10”

“9”

“Okay, kid. 9, and you help me figure out what’s wrong with this car.” Han is smiling now and hooks a thumb over his shoulder to a car that’s covered up.

“Deal.”

Rose begins to squeal excitingly and gives me a tight hug. She slips into the car once more, admiring the seats.  
Han pulls the cover off to reveal a white vintage mustang with blue streaks on the side. The car would have been beautiful back in the day, but she has a lot of wear. Given it’s an old model fixing it up would cost way too much. Although selling it for parts might be worthwhile. 

“Your problem is that this car is garbage. More trouble than she’s worth,” I shake my head as Han pops open the hood.

“This car is not garbage. She can hit up to 170 and 142 on the track.” My eyes widen I only knew of one car with those kinds of stats.

“You’re old falcon? I thought you lost it during one of your races.”

“I did, now she’s back where she belongs. A bit beat up though,” Han hands me the key and instructs me to start the engine. There are tears leather seats in some areas, and the dashboard could use some polishing. I start the car only to have her stall a few times before roaring to life. I leave the car running and walk back to Han to inform him of my findings. 

“The compressor is weak.” 

“That’s what I thought too. You did good kid. Let’s head inside and sign some paperwork for your new car.”

Rose signs the contracts while I glance around Han’s office. Chewie has headed back out to deal with customers. I spot a few photos of Kaydel as a child, as a teen, and even a picture of her holding up the Chandrila university banner. Her parents stand next to her in that photo with wide smiles. I was a little shocked to see that Kaydel’s mom was ex-senator Leia Organa. Although, I should have jumped to that conclusion almost immediately after realizing Han Solo was her father. Han points to a line in the contract and accidentally knocks over a picture frame that was facing him. The frame is another family photo featuring a very young Kaydel on Han’s shoulders, but instead of three members in the photo, there is a fourth. A tall black-haired teen stands next to Han, slightly towering over him. Ben looks younger in this photo, and his hair isn’t as long.

“You have a son?” The gears in my mind begin to shift. My mind summons all the information Ben has shared with me about his family. 

“Ben. He went missing when he was 17 after a particularly nasty fight between us. Kaydel and Leia were heartbroken.”  
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Rose apologizes as she hands the contract back to Han. Han rights the photo and snags a key off the wall.

“It was a long time ago. We’re doing fine now.” Rose takes the keys from his hand and skips out of the office and towards her new car. 

“We could use someone like you around here. Someone who knows their stuff.”

The churning of my thoughts comes to a halt, “Are you offering me a job?”

“It wouldn’t pay much.”

I roll my eyes, but the smile that comes to my face cannot be helped, “you’re offering me a job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the car I found when I was researching Mustangs. Does this [car ](https://www.thedrive.com/news/25983/2-2-million-1967-shelby-gt500-super-snake-sets-record-as-most-expensive-ford-mustang-ever) not resemble the Millenium Falcon?


	12. My boyfriend is a Grim Reaper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a long one one!

“Your quiet today,” Ben’s eyes flick from one side of the street to the other as he rolls to a stop at the entrance of my cul de sac.

“Just thinking.”

Ever since meeting Ben’s father Saturday morning, all I’ve been able to think about is how to broach this subject with him. Given Han and Kaydel’s reaction whenever the mention of Ben came up, I understood it was a touchy subject. Despite whatever occurred between them, the remaining Solos missed Ben deeply. That much was clear.

Ben guided the car into another turn. It was Sunday now, and as much as I tried to push my own feelings aside about the Solo family drama, I couldn’t help but feel attached. I spent the night with closed eyes and a busy mind. If Ben noticed my tired eyes, he decided not to comment on it.

I tried to put myself in Ben’s position, tried to summon the hurt only someone so close could cause and unable to face that person ever again. I understood that part, at least.

But if I had a family like the Solos, I couldn’t think of ever staying away so long from them. Kaydel said Ben went missing when she was seven, which was at least twelve years ago. If it were me, forgiveness would have come easily. I couldn’t fathom what had caused such a big rift between them.

Ben slides his car into a parking slot and cuts the ignition. I thought he accepted my silence earlier, but when he turns to face me, I can read the concern across his face.

“About what.”

I don’t want to tell him about meeting his father. Not here anyway, in the enclosed space of his nice car. I couldn’t be sure how Ben would react to this news, but out in the fresh air seemed like the far better choice.

“Paige, mostly. She’s been spending a lot of time with my neighbor’s godson.”

“The famous actor?”

I had told Ben about Poe a while ago. Mostly to brag that I was now friends with an up and coming actor, but that brag was short-lived because Ben had no idea who he was. Ben admitted to me that he didn’t watch much tv.

“Yeah. He’s her favorite actor, and it’s great that she gets to hang out with him as much as she has been, but I’m worried about her becoming too attached to him.”

“Because he’s going to leave.”

Poe was to return to Coruscant this coming week, and even though he had been in our lives for such a short time, it was going to be weird not to have him around as often.

“Yes,” I rub soothing circles into my wrist with my other hand. There’s nothing wrong with it, but the motion is comforting, “He’s just in a completely different world.”

Ben’s gaze turns faraway and a deep frown settles onto his lips. I hate it.

“I’m probably worrying about nothing.” I shrug off the conversation and reach for the door handle. I push the door open just as Ben speaks again. He looks back at me, his face completely serious.

“You can tell me anything, Rey. I hope you know that.”

Anything. He said anything. I took a bite of the warm pizza Ben had brought over and glared at the grey sky. I didn’t mind the rain so much, but today I wasn’t in a big mood for a rain shower.

I had brought over a red and checkered comforter from my closet, the closest thing I owned that resembled a picnic blanket. It wasn’t big and had been the only comforter that fit my small bed in my dorm room. Ben had wanted to spend the day together but settled for a picnic at the lake instead when I informed him I had a paper I needed to stop procrastinating on. That was partially true. I was avoiding a paper, but I had outlined it already. So it only a matter of making time for it, but I was having a hard time doing anything other than focusing on Ben’s family.

“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” Ben observes over his flute of sparkling cider. It was a leftover bottle from New Year’s I had thrown in a picnic basket I had borrowed from Rose.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Not yet, at least.”

“Okay.” He shrugs, setting his flute down on one knee. He reaches for his plate with his other hand.

“Ask me something. Anything. I feel like we only ever talk about are books and supernatural stuff.”

“Not true, we also talk about food,” Ben mumbles over a bite of his pizza. I hit his arm lightly, which jostles his slice of pizza, “hey!”

“That reminds me!” I grin and dive into the basket for the tamales I had packed away. We had yet to eat our way through them, but after gifting some to Finn and Mr. and Mrs. Tico, we still had plenty left over. “We made them last weekend with our neighbor Cassian. Please do me the honorable favor, and take them home. They go great with some hot sauce.”

Ben examines the bag of doughy deliciousness and shakes his head, “it’s because I told you I burnt the toaster that one time. You don’t trust me.”

“Of course, I don’t! Who burns a toaster!” I laugh, “Try not to set the microwave on fire when you heat these up.”

Ben stares at me intently as I laugh like he can’t believe I’m here in front of him. It’s like his eye sparkle. A small grin settles on his lips. It’s a bit intense, so I break the contact by munching some more on my pizza. Suddenly a question pops in my head.

“Hey, can I ask you something? It's kind of personal.”

Ben tenses under my gaze and wipes the grease off his hands with a paper napkin “sure.”

“When did you get into the paranormal?”

“I thought we agreed not to bring that up today?”

“Yeah, but I’m curious. You never told me,” I shrug. Ben leans back and rests his weight on the palms of his hands. He glances up at the clouds when he begins speaking again.

“As a kid, I had this fascination with life and death. My family didn’t like it. Sometimes I would find small animal bones and keep them. I loved to look at them and try to figure out where they came from and what their purpose was. I thought it was fun,” he shrugged. “My dad was a bit creeped out, though. He tried to shift my attention to cars. And it worked, for a while, I became interested in figuring out how they worked too. But as I grew older, I still found myself researching supernatural phenomena.”

“So, that’s what you’re up to in the library?” I take a tentative sip from my flute. Bubbly wasn’t my drink of choice, but it would have to do today.

“Yeah.” He glances back at the sky again, and I get the feeling that there’s more to it than that, but since Ben didn’t push me to open up, I was going to offer him the same courtesy.

After lunch, Ben suggests we walk around the lake, and because I don’t want to get back to my homework, yet I agree. I successfully managed to evade the whole hey I met your dad, conversation, but as we pack everything back in his car. The secret weighs heavy in my heart. If now wasn’t the right time, when would it be?

Ben slams the trunk closed and opens the back seat.

“I forgot to give these to you when I picked you up.” The bouquet of roses he holds out to me are a vibrant red and enveloped in the wax paper with the Tico family seal on it. I take the roses from him and inhale their sweet fragrance.

“Thank you.” I step forward in to hug him and press the bouquet of roses against his back as his arms circle around me. My head fits perfectly under his chin, and I can’t help but laugh a little at the smell of pizza grease that has stuck to his black tee.

“I noticed a red rogue in your driveway. Is that the car you and Rose picked out?” His chest rumbles with his words, “those tires are really bad. I could help replace them for you if you want.”

I pull back, and his arms come to settle on my waist. “I’m already working on that. The mechanic who sold it to us was a real piece of work.” As the words tumble out of my mouth, I am already regretting them. Dred immediately pools in my stomach, but it’s too late to take them back.

“Where did you go?” Ben cocks his head to the side, and the motions makes his hair to bounce, “You mentioned your friend’s father had a shop in Chandrila. I know of a handful of places that sell cars there.”

“I swear I didn’t know when we got there. I only noticed after we were signing the contract.” I take a step back, and his hands fall from my waist, my fingers tight on the bouquet, as I stare up at Ben. His expression is confused, and his eyes search mine.

“Rey.”

“It’s called Millennium Smog and Tires. When Kaydel suggested it, it sounded like a good place to start, but I didn’t expect Rose to like any of the cars there. Plus, the cars all had just something wrong with them. I told Han off for this because it’s a dirty trick. I would know I use to work for an asshole mechanic in high school. Anyways, one of the frames on his desk fell over, and I saw you in it. Then Han started explaining how his son went missing-” The words coming tumbling out of my mouth in quick succession.

“You bought a car from my father?”

“I didn’t know he was your dad. I thought Kaydel was an only child!” Ben’s fists clench at his sides, and his jaw becomes tense.

“Did you say anything to them? About me?”

“No! Of course not! I wanted to tell you first,” I search his brown eyes but only catch rage and frustration.

Ben exhales, and the movement makes it look like his whole frame is shaking with the effort. He leans his body against the side of the car with closed eyes and deep breaths.

“I don’t know everything that happened between you and your family, but for what it’s worth, they miss you. I could hear it in the way they talked about you. Maybe you could start small, reach out to your sister-”

“I’m not doing that,” His eyes remain closed, and he shakes his head.

“I know you’re hurt, but I don’t think forgiveness is out of the question for them.”

“It is.”

“Ben, don’t say that. I know you’ve all made mistakes, but I’m sure talking to them will fix everything.”

“It won’t,” My frustration is slowly creeping into my body, but I try to keep my cool.

“I know you miss them too. Kaydel told me about the flowers you give her and your mother every year.”

“My mom is never going to forgive me.”

“You don’t know that unless-”

“I do know! I know her, Rey! I turned my back on the family legacy for a dumb power trip as a teen! And now I’m stuck like this forever. I am everything my mother despised!”

“Stop talking like that!” I use the bouquet to thwack him on the chest, not caring that I’m hurting the petals, “Listen to me, Ben Solo! Your family loves you. They give a damn about you. All you have to do is talk to them!” I smack his chest with each word, petals rain down on the concrete and onto our shoes.

“They won’t listen.”

“Shut up! They will! You’re not a monster!”

“Yes, I am!”

My anger is so blinding I don’t notice the way the bouquet is beginning to wither, the rosebuds becoming an ugly golden brown, “if you need someone to be with you when you finally get the courage to do it. I’m right here!”

“Are you?” All the anger in his voice is gone, replaced instead with profound sadness that tugs on my heart.

“Yes!”

Ben’s gaze falls on the ruined bouquet to the petals at our feet. One of his hands grips the bouquet tightly and slips it from my grip. That’s when I noticed it. The vibrant flowers are no more. Now they lie dead snuggled against the wax and cellophane.

I gasp.

\---

“A what?”

“A god of death. I gather souls for the afterlife.”

What Ben is telling me is out of the bounds of reality. It comes straight from another universe. I believed in life after death and aliens too. Those things were logical. But a grim reaper? That seemed a bit out there. I wouldn’t have been as quick to believe it if I hadn’t witnessed Ben decompose the roses.

“A grim reaper?”

“Yeah.”

“And letting your family believe your missing is better than them knowing you’re a grim reaper?”

“Exactly.”

“Ben, don’t be mad, but’s that's the dumbest thing I heard.”

I had coaxed Ben away from the car and back onto the walking path around the lake. I had hoped that some fresh air might calm him down.

“Sure, it sounds dumb,” Ben shrugs his shoulders, “but you don’t know my family. My great grandmother Smhi Skywalker was blessed with the ability to bring things back to life.”

My mouth falls open at this. I had never heard of something like that. It sounded almost angelic. Was that possible? I guess this would explain where Ben’s curiosity for the paranormal stemmed from,

“We don’t know where this ability came from as far as my parents knew it began with Shmi.” Ben gently pushes me to the far end of the path as a bicyclist speeds past us, “She passed down this ability to my grandfather, Anakin, but they were the only ones they knew with this ability. They didn’t know the cost. When my grandmother, Padme, was pregnant, my great-grandma Smhi got sick. She was dying slowly, and my grandfather knew when the time came, he would bring her back. But my great-grandmother didn’t want him to do that. So, he watched her die, knowing he had the power to bring her back if she hadn’t been so stubborn about it.

After her death, My grandmother gave birth to my mother and my uncle. My grandfather had nightmares about his wife dying in childbirth throughout her whole pregnancy. They were vivid. So, when my grandmother started to bleed out after childbirth, my grandfather knew he couldn’t watch someone else he loved die. He brought her back but at the cost of his own abilities. He didn’t know. None of them did. Nevertheless, my great grandmother’s abilities passed to his children.”

Ben pauses, briefly eyeing the top of the shady tree as we pass over it. His hands, which he had been using to animate his story, slip into his pockets.

“When I was a kid, my grandfather Anakin did something stupid. His wife had left cookies in the oven before heading out to run an errand. She told my grandfather to take them out after 10 minutes, but he fell asleep instead. The whole house burned down with my grandfather in it. It devasted me. My grandfather Anakin was my entire world. My parents often dropped me off at my grandparent’s house when they were busy. And it was my grandfather Anakin who played wizard kings with me. He and my grandmother raised me. So, my uncle Luke brought him back and lost his abilities.”

I slip my arm through Ben’s as we continue walking. He steers us clear of any pedestrians, and I note that he doesn’t carry the same amount of tension he had earlier in the parking lot.

“My sister and I also inherited our great grandmother’s abilities. It was only us and our mom left in the family with this gift. My mom didn’t like it. She thought it was like playing god, so she used it sparingly. Only to bring back flowers that had wilted too soon.

My sister is ten years younger than me, so she probably doesn’t remember how neglectful our parents were with us. How quick they were to buy our affection with gifts. My mom was a state senator, and my dad was into the underground street racing scene. One afternoon my dad had taken us to the county fair and won Kaydel a goldfish. But that goldfish died on the ride home, so Kaydel brought it back to life. My mom wasn’t happy about it. She never wanted Kaydel to know about the Skywalker gift or rather curse as she called it. That didn’t stop Kaydel, though. She revived bugs, flowers, our mom’s vegetable garden. She wasn’t afraid of it at all.

Our mom lectured Kaydel about it so many times. She tried to teach her that it wasn’t right to bring these things back that we were messing with the natural order of things. She wasn’t wrong. After Kaydel started to bring back bigger animals, we’d find a dead bird on our way to school. One day Kaydel brought back a deer that was hit and killed on the road. We never learned the consequences of bringing that deer back. Our mother was so angry. That was the only time I ever saw my sister cry after one of my mom’s talks with her. She was seven.

I decided then that if my mom had such a big problem about upsetting the balance in the universe, then I needed to take matters into my own hands.”

Ben pauses to exhale a long breath. We stray from the path, towards the grass and the coolness of the earth tickles the exposed skin of my jeans.

“It was dumb. I was only 17. I found one of those paranormal rituals online about summoning a demon at a crossroads. The demon would grant you your wish, but you’d have to trade them something in return. Most people trade their soul. I traded the Skywalker gift the power of giving life for the power of taking it. Only I didn’t know how to outsmart a demon. Becoming a death god meant you weren’t living or dead but rather in a world between worlds. I was stuck in there for a while when the death gods found me. They explained to me the duties of a reaper and put me to work since I now possessed their abilities. That was going to be my job for the rest of eternity.”

“Ben,” I interrupt, but he pays me no attention.

“I only wanted to prove a point. Maybe she’d stop tormenting Kaydel with a gift she was born with if she knew there was an equal gift in existence.” He glances out towards the lake, and I follow his gaze watching the water lap onto the shore.

“I’m avoiding my family because I have to. My mother would hate to see what I’d become. And I don’t want to hurt Kaydel. I’ve been watching her grow up from the shadows. And after my disappearance, my parents finally got their shit together and raised her. She’s lived such a good life because I wasn’t there, and that’s the best gift I could have given her.”

“Ben.” My eyes water and I try my hardest to blink the tears away. Ben’s hands cup my face he strokes his thumbs under my eyes, trapping my tears between them.

“Now, you know why I can never return home.”

\---

When Ben drops me off at home, I give his arm a warm squeeze. We had been silent the whole car ride home. I think Ben assumed that I wanted nothing to do with him now that he confessed. My gentle touch makes him jump. His hands tighten on the steering wheel, his gaze forward avoiding mine. My seatbelt snaps out of my lap, and I lean over towards him, taking his face into my warm hands.

“Stop. You’re thinking too much.” My thumbs rub slow circles into his jaw, which seems to calm him enough to loosen his grip on the wheel. He places one hand on top of my own, and his eyes flit across my face memorizing it all, his dark brown eyes full of sadness.

“Thank you for listening to me today. I’d understand if you’d want to end things here-”

“No way!” My thumb grazes along his button lip, and all I can think about now is how I haven’t had the opportunity to kiss him, “A death god for a boyfriend, that’s hot.” I want to kiss him now, but it doesn’t feel right, so I settle for a peck on his forehead, “text me later, okay.”

His car drives off with a low purr, and I notice a crow hopping on the telephone wire outside as he turns out of the cul de sac. My mind is whirling. Although I didn’t mind Ben’s status as a death god, his situation with his family made my heartache. All Ben needed was a push in the right direction, and I was going to have to be the one to do it. The sun begins to break through the clouds, and a ray of light must have reached me because I feel a warmness on my cheek. I wonder if Ben is seeing these rays now.


	13. Reaper 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter early because over the past few weeks I've become obsessed with this game, summer in Mara, and I don't trust myself to post on time anymore lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Having a grim reaper boyfriend was just as boring as having a regular human boyfriend.

“So, when do you know when you have to go and well you know” I motion with my hands. Ben had come in to pick up from work and take me home. Rose hadn’t arrived for her shift yet and since it was lunchtime the Ticos had decided to head out. They were hesitant to leave me alone in the store and wanted to wait for Rose to arrive but when I mentioned Ben could stay and wait with me. They agreed on the condition of a quick introduction. Mrs. Tico was impressed by the wink she sent me when Ben wasn’t looking while Mr. Tico just grinned.

We were seated behind the register although Ben had to strategically tuck his legs under the worktable in to sit comfortably.

“Well sometimes I’m sent to harvest a soul by the head reapers but other times It’s more like a feeling,” Lines appear in his forehead and his brow furrow together, “It feels like-like someone has thrown cold water over you and the chill only increases the closer you get. My “co-workers” I guess you could say, call it reaper senses.”

I shiver that sounded both cool and unpleasant “What’s another reaper sense?”

“Sensing food poisoning.”

“Ben!” I had nudged his ribs with my elbow for that one.

“Okay maybe not.” He grins, “but besides getting the chills, Reapers can also see souls who haven’t yet passed.”

“So, ghosts?”

“Yes exactly,” He takes a long sip from his soda.

“Do you help those souls too?”

“Sometimes.” He studies the inside of his drinks as he answers, “we can help them cross over but most of the time it’s better to let them be. Some of these souls haven’t come to terms that they have passed they’re still holding onto whatever is tying them to earth.”

“You can’t just make them go with you.”

Ben chuckles, “No Rey. I can’t. Harvesting souls who are ready to leave this plane are peaceful but messing with souls who are not physically hurts. Most of the reapers can handle it but I was specifically instructed not to try.”

I shiver again, I didn’t even want to think what he meant about that. “Because you were made a reaper?”

“Yeah.” Ben becomes somber for a minute and fingers the label of his soda. I don’t know what he’s thinking but my mind is churning. If doing the most dangerous part of his job could physically hurt him then why was he still working as one?

I peppered Ben with questions all week.

“So, to become a reaper you must summon a demon?” I push my chem homework away from myself. We’re back at the library at our usual table, Ben was reading another book all about the validity of spell work when I asked that question.

“No. The demon I summoned just thought it be funny. Reapers aren’t created. Well not anymore at least. From what the head reaper told me, they’re more like angels who were chosen for this job. And more are sent as needed.”

“So, then angels are real?” I’m once again brought back to my theory about Ben’s great grandmother.

“Yes.”

“Have you ever met one?”

“Well technically all the reapers except me were once angels, so yes.”

\---

Sometimes late in the night when I can’t sleep, I text Ben more questions. He had let it slip that he often works nights, so I know he’ll answer.

_Do you like being a reaper?_

_No. It’s lonely. And I often remember that I shouldn’t be one. If I hadn’t made that deal. Now I can never return to a normal life._

I think about Ben’s answers a lot. Sometimes even when I try to distract myself with a mindless tv show. Today that had been a rerun of Rebel Hospital. Poe had returned to Coruscant a few days ago with a promise to return, but I wasn’t holding my breath. He was a busy man and I didn’t think he’d have much of a chance to return to our sleepy little town.

Rose barges into my room just as Poe has come up with a plan to save a baby whose heart is outside of his body.

“Rey!” I detect some anger in her tone and hit the space bar on my computer to pause it. I tucked myself into my desk chair, hugging my legs to my chest.

“Yes?”

“When are we going to meet your boyfriend? Mom already bragged to me about meeting him the other day!”

“Oh. I didn’t think-“

“Of course, we want to meet him,” Paige announces as she waddles into my room. She has some foam toe separators on her feet and a bottle of nail polish in her hand. Her toenails were bright bubblegum pink. “We would love to meet the man who’s the reason behind your constant smile. Besides, since Poe left things have been a bit boring.”

“Well I wouldn’t want you two to be bored,” I roll my eyes, but a smile stretches onto my face. “I’ll text him and ask if he’s free tonight.”

Ben is free and shows up at our house with a box of chocolate bars which Rose immediately snatches.

“Last time I had these was in middle school. A bunch of us band kids would sell them to each other.” Rose stares at him in wonder before opening the box and peeling the wrapper off of a bar.

“I bought the whole box off of a kid outside the supermarket. He looked to be about that age.” Ben shrugs as if he’s informing Rose about the weather.

“You must have made that kid’s day! Mmm, I’m going to text Finn and ask him if he’s on his way,”

Paige emerges from the kitchen then, “sorry I was just putting the finishing touches on dinner. You must be Ben. I heard so much about you!”

My roommates take a liking to Ben especially when he offers to help them cook. I know Ben said he wasn’t that bad of a cook I’m still skeptical because of the toaster incident. Paige thankfully declines his offers and has Ben set the table.

“I like him already,” Paige whispers in my ear when I reach over her to retrieve glass cups.

When Finn finally arrives, things get a bit tense. He greets Rose with his usual hug and kiss and from behind his back, he pulls out a bottle of red wine.

“Rey!” He greets tackling me into a big hug. Finn was big on hugging and hand-holding which took me a while to get used to. It’s not that I didn’t like hugs, but the action felt uncomfortable for me. My parents weren’t the kind of sentimental drunks.

“oof” I gasp taking a bit by surprise. I should have expected the hug but I’m a little caught off guard that Finn squeezes me a little tighter than he usually does. I raise my right hand to gently pat the back of his tan leather jacket. It looks new and smells of an entirely different cologne that Finn usually wears. The red patches on the leather trigger some bells in the back of my head but then Finn is releasing me and standing up straight.

“You must be Finn, I’m Ben”

Ben had come to stand behind but after Finn released me from his hug, I take a step to the side so both men can properly introduce themselves. Finn sets his mouth in a hard line and I watch as he sizes Ben up. I’m nervous. Finn knows my past and knows I have never dated anyone. He stands tall and extends his hand to Ben.

“Nice to meet you, Ben.” Finn shakes Ben's hand vigorously before realizing his grip and tucking into the kitchen behind us. “Let’s eat!”

I exhale a sigh of relief. That went far better than I had imagined.

However, my relief is short-lived. At dinner, Finn takes the time to grill Ben. It feels more like an interrogation to me, so I slip my hand under the table to rest on Ben’s knees.

“So, Ben where did you study?”

“I didn’t actually. I dropped out of school at 17.” Finn’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline at that and he glances briefly out the window. If Rose and Paige are surprised, they don’t comment on it. I squeeze Ben’s leg under the table as I chew my peas.

“That mustang outside is yours, right? Where are you working?”

“A small start-up in Naboo.”

“That must pay well.”

“It’s decent.”

I think these answers should satisfy Finn, but he continues with more loaded questions, “Your family must be proud.” I can feel Ben tense under my hand.

“We’re not on speaking terms at the moment.” Finn shoots me an incredulous look and I mouth a so what. Rose tries to veer the subject onto something more neutral.

“Have you always lived in the area?”

But Finn is having none of that, “Let’s stop beating around the bush,” Ben pauses cutting his steak, “how serious are you about our best friend.”

“Finn!” I squeak.

“What! Don’t you want to know Rey?”

I did know though. I don’t think Ben would have told me he was a grim reaper if he didn’t trust me.

“Very. I know we just made it official, but I do intend to make Rey happy for as long as I’m around.” He finishes off the sentence by placing his hand on top of mine and interlocking our fingers.

“Finn!” Paige gasps suddenly, “Is that Poe Dameron’s jacket your wearing?!”

  
  


After Paige’s outburst, the whole table sparked into a heated conversation all about Poe. Now it was Ben’s turn to smirk while he ate his dinner.

“He gave it to me before he left and said I would look better in it,” Finn shrugs innocently as he spoons more mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“He didn’t leave me anything.” Paige pouts while Rose's expressions turns a bit pissed.

“Poe was right babe, but I can’t help but think he was flirting with you,”

“What! No way he was just being nice.”

Rose fingers the red patches on Finn's shoulders a frown overcoming her lips.

“Did he smile at you when he handed it to you.”

“Of course! He even bumped my shoulder with his fist when I tried it on in front of him.”

Paige tries to stifle her laughter because by now Rose looks rightfully pissed.

“Next time I see that man I’m going to have some words with him about flirting with my boyfriend!”

Paige offers each of us matcha ice cream for dessert and Ben and I scoop ours into waffle cones and veer towards the porch while Rose, Finn, and Paige settle in for a movie in the living room.

“Sorry about Finn,” I begin as we sit down on the steps, “he’s a bit overprotective.”

“S’fine” Ben mumbles through licks of ice cream, “I’m glad someone is looking out for you.”

We’re quiet for a while after that simply enjoying our ice cream in the moonlight. “Can I ask you something?”

“Another Reaper question?” Ben teases.

“Well yeah,” I tuck a lock of fallen hair behind my ear, “I was thinking about what you said about the reaper’s senses and I was wondering that since your so attuned with the other side are you able to feel when something is amiss. For example, say someone is summoning something they shouldn’t?”

“Ahh, so you’re wondering about our friend at the lake.” Ben pushes his elbows onto the top of his thighs and leans over, he twirls the cone around his hand before glancing back at me from over his shoulder, “I haven’t felt that if that’s what you’re wondering.”

A small part of me is relieved. Ever since we discovered that the witch was one element away I was anxious about their next move.

“But I did feel something was off before you came to me about the bone sigils.”

I had finished my waffle cone already, so I don’t know where to put my hands except to rest them awkwardly in my lap. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it felt like something was off in the universe. Unbalanced. It still does,” Ben inspects the cone and presses down on it with his index finger. “When I talked to the other reapers about it, they didn’t offer me much of an explanation. The head reaper shrugged it off and told me it was nothing. I wasn’t ready to let it go though and did some digging.”

“So that’s what you were really doing studying up demonology and witchcraft?” I grin.

He turns away and shrugs, but I notice the slight pink tinge blossom onto his neck.

“Sorry I wasn’t honest with you about that. But I wanted to make sure what was going on first.”

“Did you?”

“Nope. But I did learn a lot about witchcraft. Which did come in handy. I can thank my uncle Luke for that one.”

“Your uncle? I thought you weren’t speaking to any of your family members?”

“I’m not. But Uncle Luke is a professor at Chandrila University. When I was younger, he use to teach a class all about the supernatural and what it meant to particular cultures. He’s the reason why the library is so well stocked with these books. He teaches Philosophy now. Though I can’t imagine how bored his students must be.”

There was only one teacher I knew who fit that description “Your uncle wouldn’t have to be Professor Skywalker would he?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

The universe was truly hilarious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poe is absolutely flirting with Finn and he's oblivious.


	14. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW Periods/menstration

Chapter 14

Dreams 

The wind blows the hair out of my face, and I smile a big fat smile as my foot presses harder on the gas.

“Slow down, the book thief.”

Now I understood the rush of adrenaline that mustang drivers must have experienced every time they stomped on the gas as they weaved in and out of traffic. I used to hate them and the way they carelessly accelerated at traffic stops, but now I get it. Why adhere to the speed limit when driving a car that would make everyone else eat your dust.

“I don’t know how you restrain yourself from going this fast all the time.” I glance over at Ben; the sun was beginning to set, and we’re both wear matching dark sunglasses to shield our eyes. The windows were down, and thanks to my highspeed, Ben’s hair was tousled. I wanted to run my fingers through it and pat it back into place.

“Just because I’m a grim reaper doesn’t mean I’m eager to embrace the arms of death.”

I laugh at that and take my foot off the gas, allowing the car to decelerate on its own. On this rare afternoon, the Ticos had allowed me to leave my shift a whole thirty minutes early, and since it was Friday, I wasn’t all that concerned with completing my homework. Instead, I convinced Ben to come with me to Target. We were out of milk, and I wasn’t all that excited to eat dry cereal.

Ben pulls a red cart from the cart station and pushes the cart forward while I skip on ahead of him and towards the candle section. I enjoyed wandering the aisles of this store during my free time, but I wanted to be mindful of Ben and not bore him, so I planned to only visit the essential aisles.

As I’m smelling a candle claiming to smell like the forest floor, another question drifts to mind. Ben glances at the directive wax warmers, his face studious.

“Hey, Ben?”

“Yeah?” He glances over at me, eyeing the candle in my hand. I replace the candle on the shelf and grab a pink one labeled watermelon lemonade.

“Do you get paid to be a reaper?”

“Yeah.” Ben glances behind us, but we’re the only ones in this aisle, “Sometimes we get sent on special assignments to other parts of the world, and for that, we’re giving housing and money.”

“Huh, interesting.” I guess that explained how Ben was able to afford all the food and treats he brought me.

“Although,” He glances down at our empty cart, “it’s not the kind of money you think. It’s spelled to appear like real currency, but often our money's just piles of ash and dirt.”

“Do people ever notice?”

“Rarely,” he shrugs.

I pick a new candle that smells like pineapple and coconut. I deposit it into the cart and pull it forward.

“So, is that what you’re doing in Takondana? On a special assignment?” I glance behind me and notice the way Ben’s shoulders tense. I hoped that wasn’t the case.

“It started that way. When I first began my life as a reaper, I was moved all around the country collecting souls, but a year ago, the head reaper decided to send me here, and that’s where I’ve been.”

“Oh,” I frown and maneuver the cart to the grocery section. I spot the refrigerators and dash towards the milk. A year already seemed like a long time. Would Ben relocate soon? I deposit the milk back into the cart and head towards the produces to check out their bananas. The last bunch of bananas Paige had bought went uneaten and converted into banana bread. I wrinkle my nose at all the green bananas that are currently for sale and roll out of the grocery section. I’m stalling. I don’t want to ask the question, but the fate of this relationship was hanging in the balance. “Do you think you’ll go somewhere else soon?”

Ben shrugs, and I spin the cart away and down to the bath products. I deposit a new toothbrush into the cart and stare down at the deodorants.

“I have been here for more than a year, so it’s possible,” my frown intensifies, and I push the cart out of the aisle. I didn’t even need the deodorant. “However, there have been cases in which reapers have lived in towns permanently. And giving my special circumstances, I think that might be the case with me too.”

The relief that blooms in my chest is cooling. And a smile makes its way onto my face.

“Good.”

Ben studies my face, and a grin appears on his lips too.

“Don’t worry about that, Rey. You won’t be rid of me anytime soon.”

Before we leave Target, I swerve the shopping cart into the feminine hygiene aisle. I hadn’t meant to come here on my initial run but after staring at a new lavender nail polish, I remembered that my stock of tampons was running low.

“Sorry,” I mumble to Ben as I stand in front of the shelf with my preferred brand. Periods were something I had been dealing on my own since forever. My mom threw me a pad when I first started, but after that, I was kind of on my own. In high school, my classmates often asked each other for tampons or pads, but whenever the boys overheard, they were told to lower their voice or shamed for bringing it up. I felt self-conscious about it. And became mindful of hiding my tampons in my sleeve when I needed to change them during class. I assumed that was just common for the rest of the female species.

“I don’t mind,” he says, but I feel his gaze on the back of my neck as I dump a pack of them into the cart. “maybe you should get two.”

“Why?” I usually only ever needed one. Plus, I still had a pack of pads at home.

“One for you and one to leave in my car. I said you could borrow it whenever you’d like, and I don’t want you to be without tampons should your period arrive early.” He reaches forward and grabs the same pack, “plus if you ever need one while you're at school or work. You can call me, and I’ll bring you one.”

Ben tosses the second bag into the basket, and I gaze up at him in wonder. Ben doesn’t even notice his long eyelashes bounce against his eyelids and spins the cart out of the aisle.

“Hey, do you want to get some popcorn before we leave?”

My heart pounds against my ears like a butterfly beating its wings against my ribcage. I feel my palms sweat as I stare at Ben’s retreating back. I want to kiss him. I want to do a lot of things to do Ben. But as my heart flutters in my stomach, a singular thought enters my mind.

I think I love him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is coming to an end and I'm already missing these idiots.


	15. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst and feels ahead. Enjoy!

Chapter 15

Reunion

Ben waits in the car for me until my shift ends. I help the Tico’s pack sandwich boards and return flowers to their proper place. Today was my first day at work without Rose, and the shop was quiet without her bubbly laughter. She started her internship today in Coruscant and was practically jumping out of her seat when she stopped by the store for lunch. She promised to fill me on the details of her first day when she got home that night. The sun had begun to set, tinging the sky in a soft yellow haze.

I asked Ben for a ride home today as the rogue was currently in Coruscant with Rose. Ben sits in the driver’s seat, a book in his lap, and his eyebrows furrowed together. Today I was enacting the first phase of my plan. I wanted to reunite Ben with his family, but we needed to start small. Right now, I felt as if it would be too overwhelming to have Ben meet his parents after twelve years; his sister was a safer bet.

He doesn’t look up from his place as I toss my backpack into the back seat of his mustang before opening the door to the driver’s side. That gets his attention, and he shuts his book. I glance down at the movement, catching the golden scrawl that reads spells and more before looking back up at him.

“Remember when you said I could drive your super nice car whenever I wanted?”

“Yeah, but that was before you decided to race all the way to target,” Ben frowns.

I roll my eyes, “I was just testing this speed demon. I won’t go fast this time. Come on,” I elongate the on until my voice pitches into a whine. Ben looks determined not to move his butt from the seat, so I snatch his book out of his lap.

“Hey! That’s on loan.”

“Let me drive, and I’ll give it back. You may read to your heart's content on the way to my house.” Ben slips out of the driver’s seat. Victory is mine.“Hey!”

Ben moves to snatch the book from my grip, so I hold it over my head. Which doesn’t put Ben at much of a disadvantage given that he’s only a few inches taller than me. I bow my back and swat his hand away.

“I’ll let you drive, just give me the book.”

“Really?”

“Yes, book thief, hand it over.”

With a big grin on my face, I drop the book into Ben’s waiting hand and scurry to the driver’s seat before he can change his mind. I watch Ben shake his head before slamming my door closed. I settle into the driver’s seat after scooting the seat closer to the wheel. Next, I take a deep breath, the wide smile on my face begins to slip as I put the car into reverse. I had double-checked with Finn today to make sure Kaydel was working and would still be by the time I left Tico flowers. I couldn’t be sure how Ben would react to seeing his sister again; I just hoped it wasn’t out of anger.

“What’s with the book?” I ask to distract the both of us from the incoming drama. We hadn’t visited the lake in a while. At least not together. “Have you gone back to the lake?”

“No. Not since our picnic. But I decided to pick up this book because something about the magic sigils is bugging me.”

“What do you mean?” I glance at Ben briefly before turning my eyes back to the road.

“I have a feeling, maybe it’s a different kind of reaper sense,” out of the corner of my eye, I catch him shrugging his shoulder. “Our witch friend is summoning something big, but do you remember the bones we found wrapped in Rosemary?”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t tell Ben this, but I had gone back and taken one of those Rosemary wrapped bones. I don’t know why. I didn’t have a purpose for it, but something compelled me to take it home. Currently, it was laying somewhere under my bed in a tin box full of mementos.

“According to this book, those kinds of bones are used for summoning demons.”

“A demon?” my nose twitches on its own accord as I think of the one under my bed, “why would the witch want a demon?”

“Why would anyone want to call forth a demon? My best guess is that the witch might have the same motivations as I did. I think they want to trade.”

The car comes to a slow stop at a red light. What could make a person desperate enough to trade anything and everything for a demon to fulfill their wishes?

“We gotta stop them.”

Ben’s quiet and doesn’t respond, which concerns me.

“Right, Ben?”

“Of course! I just wish I knew when they planned on completing the ritual.”

I contemplate for a minute, “Isn’t the full moon coming up? That has to count for something?”

“Yeah. The full moon that’s gotta be it.” Ben stares out the window as he thinks finally he asks the question I’ve been dreading, “Where are we going?”

“Oh, ugh. I’m craving coffee and something sweet, and the only decent place with coffee is this way.”

I hope Ben doesn’t read into my hesitance, but if he does, he doesn’t comment on it.

When I pull into Rebel Bean, I can hear the strain of the leather as his fingers grip the seat.

“Rey,” his voice is low, his tone a warning. I shut the car off and pocket the keys. Through the window, I can see Finn wiping down the empty tables while Kaydel rearranges the pastry display. “I’m not going in there,” he says in the same low warning voice. Ben’s car has tinted windows, so even if Kaydel decided to look out the window, she wouldn’t see us.

“I know things are hard with you and your family, and you’re not ready to face your mom yet, but what about Kaydel? Do you think she’ll judge you? She was only seven when you left. You send her flowers every year. All she has are good memories of you. Don’t you think it’s worth building a relationship with her?”

Ben is quiet, his jaw tight as he stares out the windshield. I notice his fingers slowly loosening their grip on the seat.

“I know you miss her. She misses you too. I’ll sit with you if that’s what you need.”

Ben, let’s out a deep tired sigh before turning towards me, “I wish you had told me earlier that you were doing this,” he glances down at the gear shift, “I could have mentally prepared.”

The last part of that sentence comes out in a low tone that chips away at my heart.

“I know this is hard for you, and maybe I should have told, but I think if I did that, you would have never gotten in the car.” I move my hand off the steering wheel, and towards his chest, his heart beats a fast rhythm underneath my fingertips. “I know you’re strong enough to do this.”

His fingertips reach up and intertwine with mine, and the expression on his face makes me want to put the car in reverse and pretend this never happened. His eyes look on the verge of watering, and his lips have turned down into a pouty frown. All in all, he resembles a heartbroken puppy. He gives my fingers one last squeeze before pushing open the door.

Ben steps out of the car, and I couldn’t be prouder.

“Peanut!” Finn calls out to me. He’s closer to the register now and tosses the dirty rag into the dimly lit back room. The café isn’t exactly empty, but the patrons who are here are speaking quietly to themselves. Kaydel hasn’t looked at us yet, her focus entirely on the pastries. I offered Ben my hand, his grip is tight, and he hasn’t taken his gaze off of his sister since we entered. I squeeze his hand and tow him towards the register. Finn jaw tenses when he spots our linked hands, but he forces a smile onto his face.

Kaydel puts the finishing touches on her display and gives me a happy smile, “Rey! I heard the trip to my dad’s shop went well. He was impressed-”

Her gaze strays from my face to the tall figure behind me, and for the first time in 10 years, the Solo siblings lock eyes.

“Ben,” The word comes out of Kaydel in a broken sob, and then she’s pushing Finn out of her way in the next second. Finn stumbles back, his eyes wide. Ben’s hold on my hand slips as Kaydel crashes into him. He catches her, arms encircling her, back his head bowed, causing strands of his black hair to obscure his face.

I turn back to Finn, who is staring wide-eyed at the siblings, and order a green tea with some cookies.

Kaydel takes her break immediately takes Ben to a booth near the windows. They speak silently, but I can tell it’s going well by the way that Ben has uncurled his fist. His palm lays flat on the table now. I fill Finn in the best I can as I eat my cookies by the register.

“Ben is Kaydel’s long lost brother?”

“Yep.” I take a sip of my tea and make a face as the hot liquid burns my tongue.

“Why didn't he reach out sooner? He’s been living in the same city as them for this long.”

Finn grew up in the foster system, and like me, he has a hard time understanding family riffs that stand from pettiness. However, I simply cannot just tell Finn that Ben’s a death god or that his family has the gift of life. I settle with something easier to digest.

“Nasty family drama. Although I hope after today things get better.”

That was phase two of my plan, which I was still working on. Kaydel’s head swivels to me so fast that all I can do is wave with a cookie in my hand. She stares back at her brother and pokes him in the chest. Her voice rising a bit, and I catch the word nerfherder thrown his way. Ben’s lips twitch in what I know is the beginning of a smile, but his mouth doesn’t fully stretch into one.

Ben hugs his little sister before we leave.

“Call me,” she tells him sternly.

“I will.” Kaydel mouth is in a tight frown, but she contorts her body around his tall frame and looks straight at me as I unlocked the doors to the car.

“Remind him to call.”

“I will,” and I meant it.

I drive us to my house, my entire focus on the road. Ben is quiet and somber the whole way there. But as I roll into the last stop before turning onto my street, he speaks.

“Thank you, Rey. For this.”

I hum quietly and take one hand off the wheel to squeeze his knee. It's a gentle touch to remind him I'm here. Ben slips his hand underneath mine and intertwines our fingers as if to say, I know. I park the car in front of my house and cut the engine. Then I turn to face Ben.

“I don’t think you should be alone tonight.”

“Rey, I don’t think sex is-"

“No, you idiot!” I slap his knee with the weight of both our palms. “I mean, I’ll hold you until you fall asleep. If you need to cry, go on ahead. I won’t tell a soul.”

Ben's lips quirk up in the corners. “Will you make me breakfast in the morning?”

“Depends. How well done do you like your toast?”

“I’ll eat whatever you make me.”

“Famous last words.” I grin and step out of the car.

I hear booming laughter from the living room and Poe’s deep voice. I want to go and ask what the heck he’s doing back here so soon. But instead, I lead Ben to my bedroom.

“Sorry about the mess.” I stoop quickly to grab discarded pajama bottoms and t-shirts from the floor.

Ben flops back on the bed, his hair haloing around him, and I get the first glance of his pale ears. “I don’t care. Your bed’s soft.” Then Ben is slipping off his shoes and fluffing a pillow. “Should have invited me over sooner,” he says over a big yawn.

There’s a strawberry plushie in the middle of my bed. I had bought it on impulse at the dollar store. Ben grabs it and hugs it to his chest. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit.”

“I’ll go find you some clothes.”

Ben’s quiet as I rummage through drawers in search of my stretchiest pair of sweatpants. I don’t have an extra big tee that could fit him, but I manage to conjure up Finn’s old Chandrila sweater. He was going to toss it out in favor of one that matched Rose’s, but I had taken it from the pile and hid in the back of my closet. I set the clothes down by Ben’s head, but given his light snores, I know he’s out for the night. I switch off the lights and head out to the living room instead.

We didn’t have strict rules about bringing people over for the night, and I had caught Finn in his boxers creeping around in the kitchen a handful of times to know that. If I was going to guess, the rules were lax.

I poke my head around the doorway and catch Poe sandwiched between Rose and Paige, a bowl of popcorn between them. Rose spots me first.

“Hey, you’re home!”

“Yeah, I just came in.”

“Rey! Come and sit with us, we’re watching Nacho Libre.” Poe shoots me a dazzling grin, “There’s room on the couch for one more.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’m going to head off to bed.” I make a show of yawning, and Paige pouts at me.

“Boo.”

“How long are you staying Poe?”

“Just this weekend. I got invited to do a chemistry test for that audition I was telling you about.”

“That’s awesome!” The script we had all read under the guise of helping Poe with his lines was good. Really Good. Good enough to be the next big movie franchise. I hoped Poe got the part. Another yawn escapes my throat, this time unprovoked. “Well, I’m going to head off to bed. See you all tomorrow.”

Ben is still asleep when I return. I don’t want to wake him, so I quickly change into my pj's and head into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. When I slip under the covers, Ben doesn’t stir. His chest continues its slow rise and fall, and I bury my face into his back. He smells good like oak and honey. It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep.

When I wake, the sun hasn’t risen. But a quick glance at my phone informs me it’s just after 5 in the morning. Ben continues sleeping on but sometime during the night, he shifted towards me and slung an arm around my waist. Now we lay flushed against each other. I’m so close to him I can feel his warm breath stir the fly away around my face. My strawberry plush pillow is nowhere in sight.

I study Ben’s face as he sleeps. He’s brows are together in a deep v as if he doesn’t agree with what is happening in his dream. His pouty lips are a bit chapped around the edges. He looks so human and not at all like an eternal being some people called a god. Ben sighs in his sleep, and my attention falls onto the moles on his face. I raise my index finger to his face and hold my breath.

What would Ben think right now if he awoke to me touching his face. He’d probably swat my hand away and tell me to let him sleep. His chest continues its slow rise and fall just as my fingertips skirts its first mole. Nothing. I brave across to the second and still nothing. I begin to map my fingers across all the moles counting, connecting, forming a unique constellation.

I pause when I get near his mouth. His lips remain in their angry pout, and I push my thumb into the corner of his mouth. I stretch it upwards, trying to transform that pout into a smile. I bring my other hand to the other side of his lips and stretch here too but the artificial smile that’s there doesn’t compare to the small moments when Ben has let one naturally slip.

My lips form into a crescent shape frown, and I release my hold from Ben’s face. The V between his brows relaxes away, but the frown on his face remains. I skirt my palm through his forehead and push the hair that’s settled there away from his face. His hair doesn’t look too disheveled from its usual appearance. But I wondered what effects the pillow might have caused on its casual bounce.

I slip my hands underneath me to cushion my face. Ben would awake soon, and when he did, I’d be here. What should I offer for breakfast? More peanut butter sandwiches? I grin at the thought. Maybe we could drive down to the lake for breakfast by the water.

But there was something else on my mind. Something that had been eluding me for days. I had seen Kaydel’s yellow mustang before not parked out in front of Rebel Bean or in the school parking lot. I had seen it somewhere else. Here in Takodana.

And that’s when it skirts my mind. I had seen that mustang parked by the lake during one of my morning runs. But why would Kaydel venture here? She lived in Chandirla with her parents.

The last bones I had recovered with Ben had Rosemary wrapped around them. I had thought was part of the ritual but not long before that discovery, who had come into Tico flowers buying Rosemary.

Kaydel.

It had to be! There was no doubt about it. Kaydel was the witch we were searching for. But why was she dabbling in the art of summoning creatures from beyond? I glance back at Ben’s face again. The previous frown that had played on his lips was replaced by a hard line.

Ben had just gotten Kaydel back into his life. I couldn’t tell him she was also the reason he sensed such a disturbance in the universe. Not yet.

Ben begins to stir, and he slowly blinks his way back into existence. A sleepy grin slips across his face, and I want to kiss him. So, I do. It’s a slow, sleepy peck on the lips, and his smiles grows when I pull away.

“Good morning,” he breathes in his deep voice.


	16. Gold Dust Woman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I didn't have the energy to edit this chapter. Anyways one of the final chapters for this fic.

I send Ben home with a belly full of pancakes, and he promises to call me later. I think I’m slick as neither Rose nor Paige awakens during this time. But only a few minutes after Ben’s leaves, both sisters come padding into the kitchen while I wash the dishes. Rose playfully bumps my hip with hers and comes to lean on the counter beside me. She looks at me expectantly, and I’m not sure what she wants me to say. Paige reaches into the cupboard for a glass cup that she fills up with water from our fridge.

“So,” Rose begins.

“So?” I glance at Rose before turning my attention back to scrubbing hard at a stain on the white porcelain plate.

“Okay Rey, cut the shit,” Paige buts in setting down her half-empty glass. “We know Ben spent the night.”

“Oh.” I set the plate on the drying rack and turn around to face the sisters. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, but let us know beforehand. So how was it?” Rose has a small mischievous grin on her face.

“How was what?’

“Sleeping with a guy, of course!” Paige crosses her arms across her chest, and Rose rolls her eyes.

“Okay, I guess. We didn’t do much besides sleep. He's been going through some family stuff. He just met his sister for the first time in a decade.”

“Damn.” Rose voices softly, “That’s got to be rough.”

“Yeah. And I didn’t want him to be alone.”

Rose glances over at her pensive sister. Paige looks up and meets Rose gaze for a long second before looking back at me, “Well, if he ever needs a place to come hang out with friends or somewhere to decompress, let him know he is always welcomed.”

Rose nods, “Yeah. I know we barely know him, but if he needs us. We’ll be here. Even Finn. I’ll talk to him about being polite.”

My eyes water. I don’t think Rose notices, but soon she’s wrapping her arms around me, “Don’t cry, Rey! It’s all going to be okay.” Rose squeezes me tight, and the affection only makes the tears spill over, “Pae Pae, get in here!”

“Let it out, Rey! You must have been so worried!” Paige hugs my backside, and I end up in a Tico sandwich full of love.

The sisters aren’t wrong. I am worried about Ben and the rift between his family, finally healing after so long. But what of Kaydel and her shady witch business by the lake. That was going to crush Ben. I didn’t want to see him hurt again. I cry harder.

“You can tell us anything, Rey! Whenever you feel ready, of course.”

So, I do.

I don’t tell them the supernatural elements, but I tell them who Ben’s family is and the falling out they had long ago. I even tell them about Kaydel and how I think she’s going to get herself into trouble.

“You got to talk to her, Rey!” Paige interjects as I’m explaining my hunches.

“You think she’ll listen to me?” I yank a soft tissue from the tissue box Rose had run off to retrieve from her room. I dab at the wetness under my eyes and blow my nose.

“She has to! You brought her brother back to her. I think, besides Ben himself, you might be the only other person who will listen.”

“I think so too.” Rose adds, “you need to talk to her before she does something she’ll regret.”

Kaydel’s business class is near the library. I had watched her exit out of the building plenty of times before on my way over. She always hops into her car in the nearby parking lot before driving off. I decided to wait for her by her car and lean back against the hood of her yellow mustang. Through the shade of trees, I spot students beginning to file out of the building just before splintering off in different directions. Kaydel doesn’t seem me too engrossed in her phone, as she looks up at as she swerves in my direction and spots me. A smile appears on her face, and she digs into the front pocket of her shorts to retrieve her keys. The mustang unlocks with a soft beep beep.

“Rey! What’s up?” She opens the backseat and tosses her backpack in. I straighten from my position and face her.

“Hey. Remember this?”

Kaydel looks confused before I pull out the bone tied with Rosemary leaves from my back pocket. Her eyes widen, and she looks up at me, alarmed.

“Rey, put that away!” she whisper hisses and glances around the lot. “Get in the car. We can talk there.”

I slide into the white leather seats, and I’m momentarily distracted by the buttery feel of them. Damn, did all the Solos have mustangs this beautiful? Kaydel slams her door closed with a bang and starts the engine. Cold air blows out of the vents and into my face. Kaydel puts her hands on the wheel but doesn’t put the car into reverse. She angles her body towards me instead.

“Where did you get that?”

“Takodana lake. I’ve been finding your bone sigils since New Year’s Day. Kaydel, what’s going on?”

The youngest Solo shuts her eyes closed for a second and lets her head fall back against the rest with a hard thunk.

“Fuck.” She mumbles quietly, before turning towards me once again, “Okay. It’s not what you think. I’m not a witch.”

I raise my eyebrow at this.

“I’m interested in that stuff, but I didn’t start to look into spells until this year.” She inhales deeply, “Does Ben know?”

“He doesn’t know it was you. I didn’t tell him,” She exhales at this, “But he knows that whoever this person was, they’re trying to summon something, possibly a demon.”

“Shit. Shit. Rey, you cannot tell him.”

I’m quiet. I didn’t want to tell Ben, but Kaydel was putting her life in danger, “I don’t want to tell him. But what are you doing?”

“Yes, I was trying to summon a demon. It didn’t work, though. But I did get Ben back, so it all worked out. I’ll never mess with that kind of darkness again.”

“Kaydel, are you crazy?! A demon is what got your brother in this position in the first place!”

“I know! I know! I just missed him. I knew he was out there somewhere, call it a familial bond or something. But if I could trade something in my life to get my brother back, I’d do it! Our family hasn’t been the same since his disappearance.”

I’m quiet. Some part of me did understand that. From what Ben had told me about his life as a reaper, it wasn’t the same as living in this world. Living here with his parents. With me. Never having to feel the call of the reaper.

“Are you going to tell him?” she asks in a low voice.

“I don’t know yet. He’ll only be worried.” I shift my whole body towards Kaydel. “Promise me you’ll never toy with that kind of stuff again.”

“I swear!” Kaydel holds her hands up and creates an x over her heart. “It’s done. I got what I wanted without that.”

\---

After leaving Kaydel’s car, I head up to the library and park myself in the farthest corner of the stacks. I had a lot on my mind, but at the moment, I had resolved not to tell Ben that Kaydel was our little witch friend. However, that meant that I was going to have to keep lying to him, and we’d have to stand under the full moon waiting for a witch that wouldn’t come. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I didn’t see any other way. Ideally, Kaydel would confess to him herself, but I would need to be patient with her about this.

I slide myself down the smooth expanse of the bookshelf and slip my phone out of my pocket. I wanted to research more about grim reapers and find out if there was a way to summon one forth, but that search did not lead to anything fruitful. I was curious. Could these fallen angels be the key to solving Ben’s problem? If Ben was no longer a reaper he could talk to his parents again, he could stay in Takondana permanently with me, we could build a life here.

Ben had made a deal with a demon so maybe breaking his curse lay in breaking the deal with that demon. I pivot my search to breaking deals with demons. Most of my results are all about bettering your life and exorcising your own demons but when I get to the third page of search results I come across an outdated blog post titled “how to summon a demon and get everything you ever wanted.” I click it.

  1. Find a crossroads.
  2. Get a box and fill it with personal belongings.
  3. Light a red candle (it must be red)
  4. Gather some bones and prove your loyalty to the Prince of the underworld by reciting the following words.



Was that all? To free Ben from his curse, would I need to trade something in exchange, perhaps my soul.

I shake my head and exit out of the browser window. I shouldn’t even be messing with this kind of stuff. I had just lectured Kaydel about it. What would Ben think if I went behind his back and did something this stupid?

Ben and I go out for dinner that night at a local diner in Takodana after he picks me up from school. I don’t have much of an appetite though and order a chocolate shake. Ben gets a steak and fries. Kaydel words from earlier playback in my mind.

“If I could trade something in my life to get my brother back, I’d do it! Our family hasn’t been the same since his disappearance.”

Would I do the same? Could I? Was breaking Ben’s away from life as a reaper possible?

Ben takes the first bite of his steak and sighs as he leans back in his seat. I take a long sip from my shake. Would I risk it all?

“You’re not hungry?” He asks as he begins cutting another piece of his steak. I don’t answer and snag a fry from his plate instead. I dip into my shake before popping it into my mouth. That makes Ben chuckle. “Here, try this.” He holds out his fork towards me, and I swipe it and pop the steak into my mouth. It’s juicy and tender and melts in my mouth. On any other day, I might be able to finish one for myself.

“It’s good,” I comment before stealing another fry.

“Well, let me know if you want to take one to go for later. I think I might just do that.” Ben’s messy waves bounce a bit with his movements, and his mouth forms into a light line across his mouth. Then, suddenly his hands begin to tremble, and a cold breath escapes from his mouth. “Shit.” He mutters, setting his fork and knife down before closing his eyes.

“Ben, what’s wrong?” I reach out towards him from across the table, my hand lands on his tight fist. His skin is ice cold. It dawns on me then, what this is. “A soul is calling to you, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” he breathes out another cold breath and slips his hand away from me. He stands up from the booth and pulls some bills from his pocket. “I have to go. You can have my food,” he tosses his keys onto the table next, and they slam against the counter with a thunk. “I’m so sorry, Rey. I’ll make it up to you.” He bends towards me and kisses my forehead with his cold lips before turning around and exiting the diner.

I loved Ben. And if summoning a demon and exchanging something in my life to break him from his life as a reaper. Then I needed to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would like to keep up with my bs. I am Waybackwheninafarawayplace on [tumblr](https://waybackwheninafarawayplace.tumblr.com/)


	17. Liar, Liar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate chapter!

Chapter 17 Liar, Liar

Sometime during my research, it occurs to me that maybe summoning a demon to free my boyfriend from a curse might result in me losing my soul in the process.

I wasn’t too keen on the idea. But if my soul, and perhaps an afterlife spent in the fiery pits of hell, was all I had to exchange for Ben to live a human life with his family and with me, then so be it.

But for this plan to work, I needed to tell a lot of lies.

I began with Ben.

Ben <3

Hey, do you want to go to Takonada lake later? The full moon is tomorrow, but maybe they set something up.

,

Rey

I can’t! I’m not feeling well. I think I ate something bad.

Ben

☹ Do you need anything? I can bring you some warm soup.

Rey

No, I don’t think I can stomach food at the moment.

Ben

You’re really sick! I’ll try to swing by tonight to check on you.

Rey

I rather you didn't. I’ll go to take some NyQuil and knock out until tomorrow.

Ben

Fine. Feel better.

Next, it was Kaydel

Rey

Hey, Kaydel! Valentine’s Day is coming up, and I want to get your brother something nice. I was wondering if you had anything personal of his that I might be able to incorporate into my gift?

Kaydel

I don’t. But my parents have left his room untouched. I could meet you there after work if you’d like.

Rey

That would be perfect, thanks.

The clouds have turned a tumultuous grey, and the wind has become a biting chill. A loud rumbling shakes the vibrations of the house, and I let out a soft curse as I pack.

I find my tin box full of keepsakes under my bed and dump out its contents on my comforter. Printed photos of Finn, Rose, and I come scattering out along with a white orange pilot doll I use to snuggle with as a kid. To the left of the mess, I had just created were some bones, leftover from lunch. I had scrubbed the meat off and washed them before wrapping them in a paper napkin. Amongst these bones lay the rosemary bone I had taken from Kaydel’s sigil. I place the bones carefully into the tin and shove the box into my purse. I switch the lights off of my room before I leave and bump into Rose in the hallway. We share a bathroom directly adjacent to my room, and she has one foot at the entrance.

“Are you going to meet Ben?” Rose is already in her pink onesie dinosaur pajamas. She only puts these on when it’s super cold outside.

“Yes,” the lies slips easily out of me now. “Do you need the car?” Rose shakes her head.

“It’s going to rain soon. Take my umbrella.” She shuffles back towards her room before reemerging with a pale-yellow umbrella. “Will you be home for dinner? I was thinking of ordering pizza.”

“Pizza, sounds good. I might not be back for dinner but save me a slice.”

“Will do!” She says before shutting the door.

The directions Kaydel sent me take me into an area of Chandrila full of beautiful homes with trimmed green lawns and houses surrounded by flowers. I scarcely found trash on the street surrounding my uni, but these neighborhoods were on a different level of wealth.

A flash of lightning streaks across the sky just as I park in front of a tall imposing house with columns supporting converging arches. To the right of the arches is turret tower with windows point in many directions. The direct sunlight in that room must be perfect for house plants.

Ben grew up here. In this mansion?

In the home's long driveway, I spot Kaydel’s canary yellow mustang spewing fumes from the exhaust pipe. She must have just gotten here too because as soon as she spots me, her backlights flicker off. Kaydel swings her door open, and I spot her jean-clad legs dangling from the driver's side. I turn the engine of my car off before grabbing my purse. I walk up the smooth concrete driveway and Kaydel greets me with a hug.

“Hey Rey! How have you been? How’s my brother?”

“Good. We’re both good.”

“I’m glad.” She says as she slams the door to her car and glances up at the towering house. “My parents should be at work right now, so they won’t bother us. Come on in.”

The inside of the house is just as beautiful as the outside. By the front entrance, Kaydel shrugs out of her hoodie and hangs it up on a peg. She leaves her keys and purse there too.

“Do you want some water?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“I’m so thirsty. Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.” Kaydel disappears around the corner, and I slip my purse off of my shoulder and leave it on the small bench in front. I wander down the hall and turn the opposite corner from Kaydel. I end up in a living room adorned with white couches and a chestnut coffee table. Atop of the coffee table is a vase of fresh red tulips which brings a smile to my face. Often tulips are exchanged at funerals, but vibrant red tulips symbolize a perfect love.

Along the wall are framed portraits of the Solo family. I spot the same photo of Kaydel that sits on Han’s desk along with pictures of the Solo siblings at various ages. There’s one photo of Ben that must have been taken during his teenage angst period because he’s frowning in it with hands shoved into his pockets and a paper birthday hat on his head. I step closer to this picture and quietly count the moles on his face. They’re all present. I briefly wonder if he ever got teased for that.

“Hey, you found Ben’s old embarrassing photos,” Kaydel’s laugh is carefree as she comes to stand next to me. “He hates this picture so much. He use to remove it from the wall and replace it with an empty frame every time he passed by it. Eventually, my mom just printed out a bunch of these pictures to have them on hand in case he tore this one up again.”

“Really?” I chuckle.

“Yes, he was persistent about it. Do you want a copy? I’m sure my mom still has a bunch somewhere in her office. You can add it to your valentine’s day gift bundle.”

“Of course!” How could I pass that opportunity up? I needed to make this photo my new wallpaper.

“Kaydel?” A soft voice raspy voice questions before appearing before us.

“Mom, you’re home?”

The woman wears a silk plum shirt and loose black pants. Her hair is styled into a milkmaid braid that sits at the top of her head. Some silver strands peep out through the braid.

“I was up in my office, and I came down to grab a coke when I overheard you. I came to see who you were talking to,” Kaydel steps away from the wall, and I get a better view of her mother. “You’re speaking of Ben as if you know where he is?”

Kaydel visibly stiffens.

“Do not lie to me. You’re horrible at it.” Her mother's expression is firm, and I watch as Kaydel cracks under it.

“I do. He’s alive and well.”

Wow. If this was the look she gave her children, I can only imagine what expressions she must have given other politicians during her political career.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice has a slight edge to it, and the vibrations of her words feel as if they could cut through you. I tremble.

“I just only found out a week ago. And I wouldn’t have known if Rey hadn’t forced him to meet with me.” Leia's eyes flint over to me, and she scrutinizes me from head to toe.

“You’re Rey?”

“Yes. I’m Ben's girlfriend.” There’s no shakiness in my voice, and I’m proud of myself for keeping my composure.

Leia exhales a deep sigh before shuffling over to one of the white couches. She opens her can of cola, and the air escapes with a hiss. Kaydel sinks into the couch opposite her mother, and I stumble after her. Leia scrutinizes Kaydel over her drink and then flicks her gaze to me. “I’m assuming you both know the reason why my son has been away for so long.”

Kaydel crosses her legs and glances at me out of the corner of her eye. Ben never wanted his family to know the truth, and maybe if I had more time, I would’ve been able to coax a reunion out of him, but I was running out of time. Thunder rumbles outside in the clouds, and even though this house looks very sturdy, I still feel the ground under my feet tremble. I glance out the window and note that the rain is beginning to pick up in intensity. I needed that personal object.

“Ben told me about the gift that runs in your family,” I begin. Leia sets her coke down on the coffee table. Kaydel sits quietly next to me. “He said you weren’t comfortable with Kaydel and him practicing it because it disrupted the balance.”

“That is true.”

“Well,” I peak at Kaydel out of the corner of my eye, “he wanted to create a balance so you wouldn’t have to be mad at Kaydel for using her gift. When he was 17, he summoned a demon and offered to exchange his gift for creating life for the gift of taking it, but things didn’t go as planned. And the demon he summoned gave him the gift of taking life but at the cost of turning Ben into a grim reaper for eternity.”

“He what!” Kaydel exclaims. She twists her body towards me so fast, strands of her blonde hair fluttering around her head. “He didn’t tell me I was the reason he went through with it.”

“He didn’t want you to feel guilty,” I calmly explain before turning my attention back to Kaydel’s mom, “Becoming a Grim Reaper is his biggest reason for not coming to visit his family.”

“I don’t care what he is. I just want him back,” Leia frowns but leans forward in her seat she clasps her hands together tightly, “Tell him that. And if he says no, I will personally find him and drag him back over here. This whole family will.” The determination in her voice makes me smile.

“Ben hates his life as a grim reaper. I think if you were to pursue him, he’d only disappear again.” And I couldn’t let that happen, “I have a plan.”

“Let’s hear it,” Leia snatches her cola up from the table and takes another long sip.

“I’m going to make a deal with a demon. I don’t care if they want my soul. They can have it. I just care that Ben live the human life he should have always had.”

“Rey, you’re insane! You cannot make a deal too. It’ll crush Ben!”

I ignore Kaydel’s pleas and lean forward so that I am in line with Leia’s eyes, “I need something from his room. Something personal of his to summon the demon. Will you help me?”

“You lied to me!” Kaydel shoots up from her seat and glares down at me, “No. No way Am I helping you. Ben will murder me himself if he finds out I helped you do this.”

“I’m not asking you.”

“My mom isn’t helping you either.”

But when we both turn on our gaze to where Leia had been, we find nothing but the opened can of cola.

“Look what you did! You stressed her out,” Kaydel says before disappearing out of the room. I raise too, as it looks like I’m going to have to hunt for Ben’s personal object on my own, but just as I’m turning the corner, I bumped into Leia. Her fist is a tight ball at her side, and as I glance into her eyes, I notice an exhaustion that can only come from being told the news that your son has a whole life you knew nothing about it.

“If I give this to you, you have to promise me you know what you’re doing. I don’t want you to sacrifice your life for my son.” She extends the fisted hand out towards me, and I hold my palm face up.

“I promise. If it comes down to my soul and your son, I’ll choose my soul.” And thus, my last lie of the day flows freely from my lips. Leia unravels her fist and out comes fluttering a pair of golden dice.


	18. Don't tell me the odds

It made the most sense to me to summon a demon at Takondana lake. The lake was not only at a crossroads, but the constant flow of water just made it a nexus of energy. I could understand why Kaydel had chosen this spot when she was summoning.

A light drizzle begins to rain down on me as I step out of my car. I slam the door and grab my flowery canvas bag that I usually reserved for target runs. Today I filled the bag with a red candle, a lighter, an umbrella, a small tin box filled with the bones, and Paige’s old swiss army knife, which I had snagged from the kitchen.

Clutched between my fingers was the last object I needed for this ritual. The golden dice were lightweight in my palm but weighed heavy on my heart. I was acting on a hunch with the dice. The paranormal blog post I read specified a personal object, but as I wanted to attract the demon that had plaguing Ben’s family for generations, I hoped the dice would call to them.

I walk deeper into the lake’s recreational area. I hadn’t given much thought to a spot, but I didn’t think it mattered much since I was already at a crossroads. I do, however, need to bury the tin box. My feet take me to the lake’s edge, where the earth is softer and easier to manipulate. I sink down onto my knees and dump everything out of the bag. I grab Rose’s umbrella first and push it open. I doubted the little bit of rain that was falling was enough to extinguish the candle, but I didn’t want the wax to become too wet. Next, I dig my hands into the dirt and dig a hole big enough to fit the box.

I pop open the tin box and catch a glimpse of the bones I had already placed there. The dice feel heavy in my hand as I drop them in, the box rattles as the new items lands, and Leia’s words echo in my head.

“These were Ben’s favorite as a child. He stole them from his father’s rearview mirror as a child every car ride. Eventually, Han stopped bothering to take them back.”

I push the dirt back over the hole and cover it the best I can. Then, I flick the lighter on and passed the flame to the candle. Next, I carefully balanced the lit candle and the umbrella in one hand while I load J. Snoke’s blog post on my browser. My fingernails were grimy from the wet earth and left streaks on my screen, but I ignored it as best as I could.

Snoke’s paranormal blog, claims that all I need was a lit candle, a crossroads, and invoking the incantation they had helpfully written out on the blog. The post was 12 years old, and I could only hope that was the same site Ben visited when he made his deal.

The incantation read kind of silly, but given that J. Snoke never wrote another blog post, I was confident enough to say that it was effective.

O dark lords below

hear my cries

I summon thee to a deal

A trade for my deepest wish

in exchange for (insert your bargaining chip here. If you have none a soul will do).

I repeated the incantation using my soul as the bargain and pocket my phone. I wait. The rain continues to drizzle, and the moon peeps out from the gap in the clouds. It was very dark at the lake, and the surrounding lights were too far to illuminate me. A low rumble from behind me made me turn my head just in time to catch a streak of lightning flash across the clouds.

“And what is your deepest wish, young child?”

The voice startles me, and when I turn my head to see who it belongs to, I spot a figured cloaked entirely in black. His robe is long and kisses the earth. Despite that, there doesn’t seem to be any holes despite the fabric dragging as he walks towards me. Fear grips my heart, and I freeze.

I can’t believe that worked.

I stand up and spread my feet shoulder-width apart. The figure’s face is shrouded in shadow, but I catch a glimpse of sharp white teeth.

“Are you the demon who holds Ben Solo’s soul?”

The figure tilts his head to the side, and it’s kind of creepy to watch the fabric contort itself in such a way.

“I am.”

“My deepest wish is to have Ben Solo and his ancestral powers returned to the plane of the living.”

“A bold wish. Ben Solo is one of my most favorite deals I have made. The nativity of such a young soul. Tell me, are you any different?”

“I’ll fight you for his soul.” I bring my left foot back and hold my fists out in front of me. I didn’t have time to play any games.

This causes the demon to cackle softly at first and then into a booming menacing laugh.

“You? A simple human? You cannot defeat me.” The demon turns around, his robes dragging behind him in the muddy earth. “No deal.”

“If I lose, you may take my soul. But if I win, Ben Solo will be mine. Body and Soul.”

The demon pauses. Its long robes approach me again and begin to pace in a circle around me. “And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to at this moment?”

“Rey Niima.”

“Niima. Hmm. Despite your difficult life, your soul remains pure.”

“Yeah well, we don’t all become assholes because of our trauma.”

“I see. I also see something else in you, Miss Niima.”

“My stylish sense of fashion?” I wave my hand over my body. After Leia handed me Ben's dice, I came to the first crossroads I came across. Here I was out in the rain in grey sweats and my dirty converse.

“You have the power that young Solo desperately coveted.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your parents drank themselves away when they discovered it in you. You Miss Niima were born with the gift of death.”

“I think if I possessed such a gift, I’d know.” I try to catch the demon's eyes under the head but see nothing but a black void.

“You’ve been suppressing it. However, it’s been wanting out for some time. Tell me, Miss Niima have you noticed an influx of dead things around you?”

“I-” haven't. Of course not. But before I can get those words out of my mouth a thought bubbles to the surface. The crows, the flowers at the shop, the mouse. I hadn’t given much thought to these things in a long time. My mind occupied with bringing the Solo family back together. I had logically assumed it was a side effect of Kaydel’s curse, but I was completely disregarding all the other times in my life where death followed me.

When I was six, and my father had taken me to the pet store to pick out some fish. He had wanted me to get me used to the idea of having a pet. I loved to look at the multicolored fish of all day, but one afternoon as I glanced at them, they slowly begin to rise to the surface on their backs.

At 12, my maternal grandmother had grown ill, and I was taken to the hospital to visit her. My mother had left the room to speak with the nurse outside, and I held my grandmother’s soft wrinkly hand in mine and watched as she closed her eyes. A flat beep echoing throughout the small room soon after

By 15, my parents had become the most distant. Never speaking to me except for anything but to demand I buy the groceries. I arrived home from school one day, exhausted and angry with my history teacher. He had humiliated a fellow classmate for receiving a D on her essay. I wished him dead, and by the morning he was.

I hadn’t connected any of these incidents together. Never traced the source back to me but now standing in front of a robed demon, I began to wonder-had it all always been me?

“Well. Unfortunately for you, the gift of death isn’t as valuable as the gift of life. Your pure heart will have to do.”

“A duel. I’m not giving you my soul without a fair fight.”

“My dear. What makes you think fighting a demon will be fair?” The figure pauses behind me. They are so close I can hear their breathing in my ear and smell the stench of sulfur on their breath. “Very well. Your soul will be worth the trouble.”

Before I can even blink, the demon shoves me so hard I fall into the mud.

“Hey!” His dark robe appears in front of my field of vision, and I roll away just something the thuds onto the ground. I scramble backwards my hand reaches for my pocket, where I stashed Paige’s pocket knife, my umbrella fell during the shove leaving both hands free to engage the weapon.

The demon chuckles at my weapon, and I take a deep breath as I notice that he isn’t armed with anything. However, I see long dark crusty nails peeking out of his robes. He’s the weapon. I scrunch up my nose, and with a screech charge forward at the demon. I aim to swing at him with my knife, but I’m pushed back with a brute force that leaves me gasping for air. When I glance back at the demon, I notice a short burst of light dancing from his fingertips.

I only need one stab with this knife, and according to another blog, I read a weapon doused in holy water should repel any demon. Cassian had given me a bottle of holy water when I moved in with the Ticos, he had joked then to sprinkle some on the sisters during their fights, but I never touched the bottle. But before I left, I had washed the pocket knife with it.

However, catching Palpatine by surprise was going to be harder than I expected. We circle around each other, and I pretend to run left before swerving right and launching myself at him. I lock my knees around his back and hold onto one shoulder. The move has startled him and knocked the hood off of his head. This close I can see his disfigured face and his decaying flesh. He growls deep in his chest, and the breath of hot sulfuric air that I inhale is enough to make me gag, but I focus on the task at hand and raise my knife above my head.

Palpatine has more tricks up his sleeve because just as I am about to deliver the killing blow, I feel his fingernails claw into my sides, and a wave of electricity passes through me.

I scream. It felt as if someone had dragged serval different knives through my arms. The pain is so great I drop my knife in the process. The demon throws me off, and once again, I crash into a puddle of mud. My whole body aches.

“Had enough?”

Palpatine’s claws sink back into his fingertips, and he flicks his hood back on. From behind, I catch sight of another tall figure dressed in all black running towards us. I groan, and that small action makes my injuries ache. I squint against the rain that clings against my eyelashes and obstructs my vision. The dark figure is closer now, and I must stop myself from exclaiming his name. Instead, I push myself onto shaky legs.

“Miss Nima. Just give in now. Do not suffer through your last moments of life.”

Another rumble of thunder sounds overheard. The sound is so loud it masks Ben’s heavy footfalls as he crushes into Palpatine. The two go down in a tangle of darkness. The pocketknife has landed somewhere near Palpatine’s feet, and I tried to walk over towards where the demon had stood. The mud makes things difficult to see, so I drop down to my knee again and run my hands through the wet dirt.

Another flash of lightning streaks across the sky and the small flash is enough to show me where the knife is hiding. I grab the knife, just in time to see Ben tossed violently over my head. He lands on a patch of grass behind me with a loud thud.

“You cannot defeat me, Solo. You know this already.” Palpatine begins to cackle, and I take his momentary distraction and charge at him with the knife. As soon as it touches his rotten flesh, his cackle seizes. I dig the weapon deeper just as his screams pierce my ears.

“Rey!”

I should have known the demon wouldn’t go down so quickly. Through his screams, Palpatine manages to summon more lighting, and with his free hands, he drives it all into me.

When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Ben’s sad face, but as our eyes meet again, they flick to shock and then happiness. I sit up then, realizing that he’s cocooning me in his arms. His face is muddy, but that doesn’t stop me from taking it into my hands.

“Ben," I whisper. His lips curve into the beginning of a smile, and I know I must not waste any more time. I surge forward and kiss him.

“Okay you guys we should really get out of the rain.”

“Kaydel?” I snap away from Ben to find the youngest Solo sibling holding an umbrella over her and her mother’s head, “Mrs. Solo?”

“You died, Rey,” Leia informs me casually. I blink at her and turn back to Ben, who is now studying my face.

“But how am I here right now?”

“Mom brought you back.” Ben supplies, rubbing small circles into my back.

“And you? Are you okay? Did the deal work?”

“Yes,” Ben replies, just as a full toothy smile make its way back onto his face. “You defeated Palpatine, the deal was honored.”

I pull Ben into another kiss again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was brought to you by hours and hours of listening to Fleetwood Mac. Thanks, Stevie!
> 
> I originally wrote a shitty first draft to this fic back in January before Covid made it's way to the U.S. Back in May, I decided to rewrite it to the story it is today. This fic was fun to write and I am overjoyed I got to sprinkle in some aspects of my culture into this universe. I hope you enjoyed this story! Stay tuned for the epilogue!


	19. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! An unexpected Early Update! I originally wanted to update this fic on Sunday as usual, but I realized this would mean the Epilogue would post on Dia de Muertos and I think a Halloween upload is more fitting for this story. 
> 
> I want to give a big shout out to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Without their musical talents, this fic would have been very boring. Another big thank you to the readers for reading this fic. it means a lot to me. I loved writing this story and building the world for it.

The following week I walk into Millennium coffee and head straight for Ben whose stacking paper cups behind the counter. Kaydel is speaking with a customer, and I bypass them on my way to my boyfriend. Kaydel doesn’t have time to protest as I lean over the counter. Today Ben is wearing a black Henley tee with white buttons. I lean over the counter and grip the fabric by his chest with my cold fingers. I pull Ben away from the cups and towards me. His lips are soft this morning and taste faintly of coffee.

“Come on guys, not in front of the customers. Ben if you keep this up, I’m telling dad he needs to put you to work.”

We ignore Kaydel’s protest. “Good morning.” Ben greets me with another quick peck, “green tea and cookies?”

“I’m feeling like a cinnamon roll today. And throw in another coffee for your dad and Chewie, I’m running a bit late.”

After saving Ben and dying before being brought back from the dead, things were slowly going back to normal. I had taken Han’s job offer and was now helping him out at the shop during my mornings before class. So far, my job had been helping Han reconstruct his Falcon and dealing with customers after Chewie had pissed them off. I still worked with the Ticos now during the evening hours. This worked out well for Ben and I as he was finishing up his GED at the Chandrila adult school. After his classes, Ben often scooped on over to pick me up.

Ben made up with both of his parents, and since he was no longer a reaper, he was now unemployed. Luckily, his parents had a spare bedroom and ran two successful businesses. Not to mention, since his uncle Luke was a professor at Chandrila University, he could pull a few strings and get him enrolled for the summer semester after he finished his GED. It was great.

Leia was adjusting well to life without her gift. She rarely used it, to begin with, she didn’t regret it. She was enjoying life now without it.

“Coming right up.” Ben turns back around to prepare my order.

My deal with Palpatine had been a close call. I had beat the demon in the duel before I had briefly died. Therefore the terms of our agreement were valid. Ben had regained his power to give life, but after so many years of taking souls, he was having a hard time getting used to it again. 

This left Kaydel as the only descent of Shmi Skywalker to possess and successfully wield the gift. Unlike Leia, she wasn’t afraid to use it in her day to day life, usually reviving the dead plants outside the café. With her talents, I imagined she was better suited to work with the Ticos, but when I brought it up to her, she told me she rather work with her brother a bit longer. It wasn’t a flat out, no. I understood her. They did have a lot of catching up to do.

Ben hands me a paper bag with handles and gives me another peck on the lips.

“I’ll see you later tonight,”

“Don’t be late,” I give Ben a wink before turning around and heading to the Falcon. Behind me, I hear Kaydel’s exaggerated gagging. I slip into the mustang and settle the coffee and treats in the passenger seat next to me. From the big open window, I watch as Ben playfully swats Kaydel with his cleaning rag a smug smile on his face. I grin as I back out of my spot. The relationship between Ben and his family was healing slowly but surely. A few days after defeating Palpatine, Ben had returned to his parent’s house for a reunion dinner. I had wanted to go with him, but he had wanted to talk to them alone.

The Falcon stutters as I ease the car to a stop at the light. The Falcon wasn’t in its best shape just yet, but I had helped Han track down a new compressor that we installed this morning. Han had sent me out for both a coffee run and to see how the old classic ran. So far, so good. Although, I was supposed to call him if I got stranded in the middle of the road. 

I laughed, recalling the way Han looked both jokily and serious as he handed me the keys. Although it was true, this baby could hit 170, I wasn’t quick to find out. My small brush with death had made me a little hesitant. Only a little though, I stomp on the gas as the light changes to green.

“How’d it go, kid?”

When I turn onto the backlot, Han is waiting arms crossed, and a crooked grin on his face. After I park, I take a tentative sip of my green tea.

“She’s running smoothly. Only some small stutters. Nothing you can’t manage though,” I shrug. Han eyes his beloved car and gently taps its hood—a soft smile plays on his lips as he recalls old memories. 

“I got an offer for her while you were gone.”

I cross my arms and gently lower my tea. Selling? Never did I think Han would entertain that idea.

  
  


“You’re not actually considering it, are you?”

The Falcon landed me this job. It was also a symbol of my misguided youth. Young Rey had looked towards the Falcon as a sign of hope.

“Maybe. I spoke to the buyer too. He’s a hotshot actor from Coruscant, who's looking to collect.” Han studies the rear mirrors and wipes off some invisible dust with his thumb. “Leia isn’t the biggest fan of me restoring it. Maybe, it's time I pass her onto the next generation.”

I chuckle at that. Although I would hate to see the Falcon go, it was up to Han whether he accepted the deal.

“Well, if the money is good,” I try to hide my grimace over my cup before setting it down on the hood of a nearby car. “Here’s your coffee. I’m going to see if Chewie needs help.” And with that, I let Han ponder over old memories.

I head to Tico flowers later that evening for my shift. Rose had left her internship early to come and help since Valentine’s day was our busiest day. The store wasn’t overflowing with plushies and balloons as it was at the beginning of the year, but a great selection remained. I step around fallen petals and discarded string as I make my way towards the front. Paige hands a receipt to our lone customer, and the dreamy-eyed humans walk out the door. Rose leans over the workbench, her eyes locked on her phone. As I approach them, a third voice rings out between them, sounding a bit far off, a familiar masculine voice.

“I knew you’d get it!” Rose exclaims excitedly. I set down my purse and jacket over the counter and duck down for a water bottle from the mini-fridge. I was exhausted, but I needed to keep my energy up. “Hey, Rey’s here! Rey, say Hi to Poe.”

I give Poe a quick Hey before guzzling down some icy water.

“Rey-na, I missed you! How have you been?”

I hadn’t seen Poe since his brief visit on the night Ben slept over. Since then, he had been staying in touch via video chat. I would have thought being an actor would have made his schedule super tight. But he was often calling to check-in. He had also taken to calling me the Spanish word for Queen because the beginning of the word was my name. It was cute. Rose thought Poe was flirting, and after the conversation she had with Poe about flirting with Finn, which Poe claimed was harmless, she became extra cautious. I didn’t give it much thought. I wasn’t going to date Poe, and we both knew that.

“I’ve been good. Hey, where are you?” On Poe’s side of the video chat, everything looked dark with the occasional street lamp briefly illuminating his face.

“I’m heading over to Tokanda. I should be there in two hours.”

“On Valentine’s day?” I raise an eyebrow, which makes Poe chuckle. “You don’t have a hot date tonight?”

“That depends. Are any of you ladies busy?” He asks in a sultry voice.

“Finn and I going out of town after I help my parents clean up. We’re heading to Naboo for a romantic getaway.”

Naboo was a beautiful town with green pastures and deep lakes. It was popular amongst couples who were looking for a place to elope.

“I’m going on a moonlight picnic with Ben.” Ben and I had made plans to have a romantic night picnic at Tokadana. After all, what did a bringer of life and budding grim reaper have to fear?

Yes. It was true. As much as I didn’t want to believe the demon’s crass words, they turned out to have some validity. Somewhere deep inside me lay the power to take life. It sat doormat in me most of my life but now was beginning to express itself more and more. The days following my duel, I walked into Tico flowers and killed all our stock. Considering Valentine’s day was on the horizon, this would have been a huge disaster— for the Ticos— luckily, Kaydel was already on her way to work when I called her pleading for help. It was magical to watch her revive the flowers with a single touch. Immediately the room filled with its sweet fragrance.

“I’m planning on watching rom-coms and drinking wine with my steak dinner.” Paige inputs.

“You’re all too busy for me,” he whines. “Paige, I’d love to get drunk and watch bad movies with you but will you be awake by the time I get there?”

“Depends on how much wine I drink,” she shrugs, “it’s probably better you head straight for your nino’s house.”

“And interrupt their romantic date?” Poe's expression turned sour.

“Why are you heading to Tokandana, anyways?” I asked, tired of the aimless chatter.

“Glad you asked Rey. My assistant tracked down an old falcon mustang, specifically the Falcon driven by Han Solo back in the day. He’s agreed to let me come and see it tomorrow.”

Paige's eyes flicker towards me, and she mouths, “Ben’s dad?” 

“Wait, you're the buyer?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

I guess Han was going to sell the old girl after all.

“I work for Han. I’ve been helping him restore the Falcon,”

“That’s so cool! Hey, maybe you can help me sway the old man into selling. He seemed unsure on the phone.”

“Oh no, not even I can crack his stubborn heart,” I laugh. “You’ll have to use your own charm for that.”

“Damn. I was hoping it didn’t come to this,” Mr. and Mrs. Tico emerge from outside, carrying empty boxes and brooms. I quickly leave my spot behind Rose and go to them.

“Poe, Rey, and Rose are going to have to go and get back to work. See you in a few hours,” Paige announces.

“Yep. Bye Rose, bye Rey.”

\---

Moonlight dances along the calm waters of Tokandana lake. Its reflection wavers and glimmers with the movement of the water. Couples walk the path hand in hand, both young and old, and those young teens are a field away juggling soccer balls between their feet. All oblivious to the darkness that descended onto this park a year ago.

Ben lays on his back while I sit atop the same red checkered blanket from our first picnic, our gaze on the stars. Between our heads, my cellphone softly croons Fleetwood mac’s Rhiannon. In my hands, I grip a bouquet of roses and white lilies Ben had gifted me when I stumbled out of Tico’s flowers.

I was exhausted from work and classes. I hadn’t even had time to run home and get dressed up for our date. I was wearing the same dark jeans and a gray tee shirt that I had been this morning. I had freed my hair out of its three buns and shook it out a few times to give it some bounce.

Ben was dressed similarly to me in a black hoodie and jeans. He had come straight from his night class. Ben knocks his black converse against my shoes to get my attention. I probably smelled like sweat and car grease. I roll my gaze away from the sky and to my former grim reaper boyfriend.

“How was your class?” I ask

“It went well. I made a new friend.” Ben announces, a small smile turning the corners of his lips.

“Oh? You mean I’ll no longer be your only one.”

“Yep. How was work?”

I groan, thinking about it, and let myself fall back onto my elbows. Petals escape the gentle buds of the bouquet because of my harsh movement, “You’re not going to believe this, but your dad is considering selling the Falcon.”

“Really?” Ben folds his arms over his head, “It’s about time he got rid of that piece of junk.”

“You don’t care about that car?” 

“That mustang only brought me bad memories. Whenever my parents argued, I remember watching Dad leaving in a cloud of dust.”

I sigh deeply, “Maybe it’s just me then. I have an attachment to the Falcon. For the longest time, I thought the Falcon would lead me to my family. I’d hate to see it gone.” My eyes lower to Ben’s chest, and I watch it rise and fall a few times before continuing, “And then I found out that Poe’s the potential buyer.”

“Your actor friend?”

I can’t decipher the look in Ben’s eyes, but he lets out a deep sigh. Ben had yet to meet Poe, but lately, I’ve been getting the impression that he wasn’t the biggest fan of him. It was probably best I did not mention Poe’s nickname for me.

“Yeah. Your dad is still undecided, but Poe is going to see him in person tomorrow.”

If Han was selling the Falcon and if I had the kind of money worth purchasing the Falcon.. I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Ben leans over me and uncurls my fingers from the bouquet. I glance down at the now wilted flowers and release my hold on them. 

“You want the Falcon, don’t you?” 

Ben presses his fingers to a wilted lily petal, and we watch as the color slowly fades back into the flower.

“Yeah. You’re getting good at that.”

“Kaydel’s been teaching me. Your powers are starting to manifest more and more.”

“Yeah. I’ve been doing a good job of killing plants lately.”

We weren’t sure why my powers were manifesting now when before I had been able to handle the flowers with care. Kaydel theorized it was because I lived through a stressful experience, and although it was over, I must not be over it.

“You need a teacher.”

“Are you offering?”

The bouquets bloom back to life. 

“Yeah,” he grins, “I would love to,” his smile turns serious, “you don’t want to see the Falcon go?”

“It’s stupid,” I toss an arm over my eyes to hide my embarrassment and let myself flop back onto the blanket. Which is silly. Ben is someone I trust unconditionally. “The connection I have to that car stems from my own father taking me out to street races. I’d just hate to see the hunk of junk go.”

“It is dumb” at my scoff, Ben chuckles and scoots closer to me. “You don’t have to hold onto it,” He wraps an arm around me and pulls me to his chest, “that fantasy, that one day a hero would save you. Because you saved yourself, Rey,” his voice rumbles out of his chest, the vibrations echoing against me, “and you saved me.”

I drop my arm from my eyes and crane my neck up towards Ben. My chin lands atop his chest, and he shifts to his back again. I pillow my hands under my chin and interlace my fingers together. 

“Killed myself in the process.”

“Promise me that next time you decide to summon a demon and trade your soul for a favor, you’ll call me first.”

“No promises” I close my eyes and burrow further into his chest.

“Rey,” he warns.

“Fine, fine. Next time I summon a creature of darkness, I’ll call you first.”

Ben kisses the top of my head, which reminds me of the gift I brought with me. I wiggle out of his hold and reach over his head, where we had set down our gifts. When Ben hears the rustle of the gift bag, he sits up and scoops the gift bag he had for me.

“Happy Valentine’s day, Ben.” 

“Happy Valentine’s day, Rey.”

As soon as Ben's gift lands in my hands, I toss the decorative tissue over my shoulder. Inside the bag, I find small apples and a book.

“Apples?” I asked while pulling the book out. Laughter bursts out of my chest, “The book thief, Ben you shouldn’t have.”

“So you’ll never forget that your boyfriend was once a grim reaper. And I owed you some apples.”

I set the book down on my lap and push the apples aside.

“I hope you like your gift.”

Ben gives me a suspicious glance before taking out the tissue paper, his face lights up as he pulls the black and white plush out of the bag.

“Where did you find this?”

“eBay.” 

Ben grins at the big-eyed hooded grim reaper plush and thumbs the scythe the plush holds in its hand. He hugs it to his chest.

“I love it.” 

“Good because I’m pretty sure I beat out a goth for that plush.”

Ben’s laughs echos around me, and I snuggle up into his chest. The air is a little chilly, but I don’t even feel it because of Ben’s body heat. My fingers slip underneath his hoodie. 

My new year had to turn from odd occurrences to me genuinely loving my life now. For once, it felt like I had a direction to head into it. I was still undecided with my major, but that paled in comparison to honing my reaper powers.

But I knew I could get through it with Ben and my newfound family. 

  
  


The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote this fic because I wanted to write a reylo grim reaper au, but I also wanted to embed a part of my culture into the reylo universe. I've read many Reylo fics with Cassian as a side character, but they fell flat for me. Often Cassian was portrayed as a sort of Latin lover or simply there. I don't think these portrayals were intentionally trying to come across this way and fanfic is for fun. However, I'm Mexican-American, and for my fic, I wanted to dive deeper into the traditions I grew up with it and I wanted to do that via Cassain. I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay spooky readers!


End file.
